UN stresses need to increase aid for displaced Haitians

The United Nations' humanitarian relief agency on Tuesday stressed the need to increase support for Haitians who have been displaced by the January earthquake.

More than 1.2 million people live in spontaneous settlements and more than 460,000 people have left Port-au-Prince for outlying departments, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

OCHA said that regional distribution hubs are being established to relieve congestion in Port-au-Prince and that the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) is establishing a passenger service to locations within Haiti, to spread aid efforts throughout the country.

The United Nations, in coordination with the government of Haiti, is currently assessing how assistance can be provided to those who have moved out of affected areas.

Particular areas of concern include health care and food security. Food assistance is being reinforced in the Southwest, North and Artibonite departments, which are hosting a significant number of the displaced.

Concerning overall food distribution, the World Food Program ( WFP) said that the system now in place is working well.

Nearly 1.9 million people have received food assistance since the beginning of the aid effort, including nearly 1.1 million in Port-au-Prince in the last eight days through the new distribution system.

Meanwhile, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie is in Haiti on Tuesday, after visiting the Dominican Republic on Monday, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters.

She has traveled there to register her personal support for the humanitarian effort that has been underway since January's earthquake, Nesirky said.

Her purpose in making this visit is to bring attention to the continuing dire needs of Haiti and its people, he added.

Source: Xinhua