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As Handicap International’s emergency teams travel to the areas worst affected by Hurricane Matthew to supply aid to victims, an air cargo of humanitarian equipment is scheduled to land in Port-au-Prince on the evening of Wednesday 13th October. With access to the southwest of the country still unreliable a week after the disaster, Handicap International is organizing the transport of aid by sea.

Les Cayes, the capital of the Sud department, was one of the main urban areas affected by the passage of Hurricane Matthew on 4th October 2016. A week after the disaster, resilient but resigned, the inhabitants of the city’s rural neighborhoods are slowly getting back on their feet.

There has been a worldwide surge in natural disasters, as seen when Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti and Cuba on 4th October 2016. Being more prepared for such events would save lives. For Handicap International, which is implementing 15 natural disaster risk reduction projects across the world, it is crucial that local people are trained directly. 

Handicap International strongly condemns the air strike on a funeral hall which killed 140 people and injured 500 in Sanaa, on Saturday 8th October 2016. The ongoing bombing of civilians and civil infrastructure must be stopped immediately.

Present in Haiti before Hurricane Matthew hit, Handicap International’s local teams supported by emergency specialists, are preparing to supply aid to the most vulnerable people. More than 1.4 million people now need immediate assistance. As the death toll continues to rise, hundreds of thousands of people are still unable to access humanitarian aid in some areas of the country.

Mental health problems in people affected by the conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Ukraine are leaving an entire generation traumatized by armed violence. Often neglected, mental health disorders linked to this type of trauma can have severe repercussions on the whole of society and impede its reconstruction.

As the death toll in Haiti soars to more than 1,000 after the passage of Hurricane Matthew, humanitarian organizations including Handicap International face a race against the clock. Rising casualty numbers threaten to overwhelm the few health centers and hospitals not hit by the disaster. Large sections of the population are also at risk from epidemics.

After Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti last Tuesday, Handicap International has been mobilizing its teams in the field, supported by its emergency specialists who arrived on Friday. A large part of the country has been devastated and thousands of homes destroyed. The United Nations estimates that more than 2.1 million people have been affected, of whom 1.4 million immediate assistance.

The death toll in Haiti continues to rise as assessment teams gain access to areas worst affected by Hurricane Matthew, which made landfall on Tuesday 4th October. More than 500 people are estimated to have been killed by the hurricane, which has also caused severe material damage. Handicap International’s emergency backup team arrived in Haiti on Friday.

As Haiti begins to recover from the passage of Hurricane Matthew, the impact of the disaster is still uncertain for large sections of the population, which remain isolated and without any means of communication. Hélène Robin, who is coordinating the emergency operations from Handicap International’s head office in Lyon, gave us a situation update.

Handicap International’s teams already present in Haiti are preparing to assess the damage and the essential needs of people affected by Hurricane Matthew. A backup team is expected to arrive in Haiti on Friday 6th October 9am (local time) to help organize the emergency response and facilitate access by humanitarian organizations to areas worst hit by Hurricane Matthew.

Following the passage of Hurricane Matthew, which hit Haiti on Tuesday 4th October, large swathes of the affected area remain inaccessible, making it difficult to assess the impact of the storm. The strength of the hurricane, its scale, and the poverty of the areas affected suggest significant humanitarian needs. Handicap International is preparing to send an emergency team to Haiti to assist victims of the disaster, in addition to its team already on the ground.

As Hurricane Matthew moves through the Caribbean, Handicap International plans to deploy an emergency team to Haiti in support of teams already present in the country. The team will assess needs and support people affected by the disaster. It is expected to leave within 48 hours, once affected areas become accessible again. 

The eastern districts of the city of Aleppo, in northern Syria, have been the target of sustained bombing for almost two weeks now. The damage to the civilian population is truly devastating. According to the United Nations, 320 civilians have been killed, including around one hundred children. Prohibited weapons, including cluster bombs, have been used.

On 4 October 1996, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) presented the Nansen Medal Award to Handicap International “for its work on behalf of refugees and its contribution to the campaign against anti-personnel mines.” On the 20th anniversary of receiving the award, Handicap International’s co-founder, Jean-Baptiste Richardier, reflects on an important chapter in the organization’s history.