CARICOM focus on Haiti field hospital; team attends donor meeting

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, January 18, 2010 – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has identified the setting up of a field hospital in earthquake-hit member nation of Haiti as its primary focus and all the money provided by the various regional governments will go toward that effort.

Meantime, a delegation from the regional grouping will meet with other donor representatives at a meeting today in the Dominican Republic to discuss assistance and coordination of efforts for Haiti.

Medical facilities which were not damaged by the 7.0-magnitude earthquake which rocked the country last Tuesday have been unable to adequately treat the thousands of injured survivors. Barbados’ Prime Minister David Thompson, speaking to reporters over the weekend after meeting in Jamaica with some of his regional counterparts, said the field hospital was one of the best ways that the Caribbean could help.

"We wanted to look at a specific area in which we felt CARICOM could make its impact,” he said, noting that all the financial resources from the regional governments and, hopefully, non-governmental organisations would go towards this particular effort.

Thompson noted that while there’s a tendency for people to rush to make donations when there's a natural disaster of this magnitude, the logistical problems in Haiti prevent that aid from getting to the people who need it.

He said money to assist in running the field hospital would therefore be preferred. The cash will be placed into a fund administered by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the base for the medical equipment and resources will be Jamaica.

"If people really want to give something and they can give some kind of medical supply or ask a question about what is needed, we'd rather you supply that. We want to target our programme on the field hospital and we're certain that the resources would get to the people of Haiti that way,” the Barbados Prime Minister said.

Thompson said the field hospital is something that all member countries will contribute to and he has urged citizens to do the same.

Additionally, electricity companies in the region are exploring the possibility of assisting in the restoration of power to Haiti.

Meantime, the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) has established a base camp in Haiti from which all CARICOM donations and aid staff are being dispatched.

The United Nations is the leading international support on the ground and the JDF is included in daily morning meetings at their headquarters and will play a role in the relief efforts as required, according to Jamaica’s Minister of Information, Daryl Vaz.

CARICOM countries have kicked into high gear in their support towards Haiti in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake.
Member states have offered support to rescue and recovery missions in Haiti in the form of military assistance, search and rescue teams, medical personnel, artisans and aircrafts.

While preliminary discussions for accessing the Caribbean Development Bank’s Emergency Grant of US$200,000 were underway, several CARICOM countries and agencies have already made several pledges.

All across the region, several individual efforts led various groups and businesses, have themselves made donations and encouraged citizens to give to help the survivors of the quake.

A CARICOM delegation led by Chairman, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica, aborted their visit to Haiti last Friday after their plane failed to get clearance to land because of an influx of relief flights entering the country.

Skerrit will, however, attend today's meeting in the Dominican Republic. He will be accompanied by the Prime Ministers of Jamaica, Bruce Golding; Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Manning; and Barbados, David Thompson, as well as CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington.

Also in attendance will be senior officials of the US State Department, representatives of the European Union, and the United Nations.

The meeting is being convened by the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, in his capacity as Chairman of the European Union (EU), and will discuss medium and long-term plans for Haiti's reconstruction.