14 January 2010

In the response phase of the earthquake emergency in Haiti, the immediate needs of children and families in Health, Water and Sanitation, and shelter, are the first priorities.
UNICEF supplies
The first wave of emergency essential supplies from the UNICEF Regional Office in Panama will leave for Port-au-Prince by air. These emergency supplies include: 10,000 tarpaulins, 4,600 water containers, 5.5 million water purification tablets, 556,000 oral rehydration sachets, 21 GPS receivers, 2 portable warehouses, tents, trauma kits, and water tanks. These supplies can cover 10,000 families.
A boat carrying a shipment of emergency supplies is due to arrive in Panama on 14 January at 22:00 local time, Additionally, a DHL charter is being loaded with 45 MT of supplies which will leave Panama for Port au Prince on Saturday 16 January. These supplies from the UNICEF Panama Office and UNICEF Panama Supply Warehouse include: water testing kits, inter-agency emergency health kits (IEHKs), Early Childhood Development (ECD) kits, School-in-a-Box kits, Recreation kits, water containers, tents, tarpaulins, rope, and water purification tablets. These supplies can cover an additional 20,000 families.Communications systems have been severely disrupted and Supply Division has telecom equipment available for deployment.
A UNICEF supplier of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) in Santo Domingo has been identified and 13,848 kg of RUTF is ready for dispatch.

Logistic capacity
Air traffic is severely restricted as a result of extensive damage to the airport at Port of Prince. The conditions at the port are being assessed. Roads from Santo Domingo may be the most viable option for the majority of incoming humanitarian supplies.

Human resources
Five Emergency Response Team Supply and Logistics staff are to be deployed from UNICEF Headquarters (New York) and Supply Division (Copenhagen). UNICEF's emergency response is being coordinated from Panama, Port au Prince, and Santo Domingo.