Four months after the August 14 earthquake, the recovery in Haiti’s southern departments was proceeding at a painfully slow pace, impaired by the governance crisis, the gang blockade of fuel supplies, the continuing COVID pandemic, and the simple inadequacy of resources relative to the scale of need. Families who had been sleeping outdoors in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake were still in temporary shelters; some had moved into slightly better arrangements, but many remained in conditions of acute vulnerability.
The construction of transitional shelter — weatherproof temporary structures that could protect families while permanent housing was rebuilt — was one of the most urgent priorities of the recovery operation. But the delivery of shelter materials to affected communities had been slowed by road damage, fuel shortages from the gang blockade, logistical challenges in remote mountain areas, and the limited local construction capacity of communities whose skilled workers had often emigrated.
School reconstruction was proceeding in some areas with the support of international organizations, but hundreds of school buildings remained unusable, forcing children to attend classes in makeshift outdoor arrangements or not attend at all. The disruption of education was a second-order disaster that would have long-term consequences for the affected generation.
Health facilities that had been damaged in the earthquake were being repaired with international support, but the process was slow and some facilities remained operating at reduced capacity months after the disaster. The combination of earthquake recovery healthcare needs and the ongoing demands of COVID and everyday illness created enormous pressure on a health system that had been barely functional before the disaster struck.