Photo of the week: what’s going on in Haiti?

Today is the six month anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti and many people are asking, “What’s going on in Haiti?”   

Despite the UN labelling the earthquake “the worst disaster ever confronted”, Haiti has dropped off the radar in terms of media attention. Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, with chronic underlying poverty.

These problems have made coping with the earthquake even more difficult and progress in rebuilding has been slow.

Dabady Gina Fils, 31, from Jacmel, lost her house and small business in the earthquake. Six months on, supporting people to move from tents into transitional shelter is one of ActionAid’s top priorities.

ActionAid has been working in Haiti since 1997 and believes communities need to actively participate in the wider reconstruction process, as well as recognising the existing capacities of local communities to cope with and recover from the disaster.

Over the last six months ActionAid has focused on responding in a number of priority areas such as food, shelter, psychosocial support, education and disaster risk reduction.

ActionAid has also been initiating programs that actively include community participation. One such example is the cash for work programs, where almost 3,000 people have been employed in clearing rubble from flood prone gullies or rehabilitating roads. This achieves the dual objective of giving Haitians paid employment, while reducing the threat of future disasters.

 More video, pictures and updates on ActionAid’s response in Haiti