Malteser International provides emergency relief
Cologne/Port-au-Prince. On Monday morning local time, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 hit the southwest of Haiti. The quake occurred near the town of Les Cayes in the department of Nippes, about 200 kilometres from the capital Port-au-Prince. Only last August, an earthquake in this region had caused the deaths of more than 2,000 people. The Malteser International team in Haiti is providing first emergency aid to the people in the region.
"The people in Nippes are under shock. In the past months, they were busy rebuilding what was destroyed by the earthquake last August, and now the next earthquake is already happening. Our colleagues are on the ground providing psychosocial support to the traumatised people. As many people were wounded, we will also provide the hospitals with medicines and medical supplies," says Jelena Kaifenheim, Regional Director Latin America and Caribbean at Malteser International.
According to current information, two people died in the quake on Monday. Houses were damaged and many people injured.
Political instability, natural disasters, gang crime and the effects of the Corona pandemic have pushed more and more people into poverty in recent years. Every second inhabitant of Haiti is dependent on humanitarian aid due to the food crisis.
Since the earthquake in 2010, Malteser International has been active in Haiti, meanwhile mainly in the department of Nippes, and is also implementing long-term food security projects there in parallel to the current emergency aid. Malteser International receives support from the German Federal Foreign Office and Aktion Deutschland Hilft.
Malteser International is the humanitarian relief agency of the Sovereign Order of Malta. With over 100 projects in 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, Malteser International supports those affected by poverty, disease, conflict and disaster, helping them lead a healthy life with dignity – without distinction of religion, race or political persuasion. Christian values and the humanitarian principles build the foundation of our work. For more information: www.malteser-international.org
Attention editorial offices:
Jelena Kaifenheim, Regional Manager Latin America & the Caribbean of Malteser International, is available for interviews and sound bites.
Operator: +49 (0)221 98227 181, katharina.kiecol@malteser-international.org
