Our Capabilities

Programs by region

Programs by Issue

Our Stories

Our Stories

IRD Vice President Alonzo Fulgham meets with Haiti’s President-elect Michel Martelly at a US Chamber of Commerce reception April 19. The two discussed agriculture initiatives and development strategy. Fulgham also reminisced about his two-year stint in Haiti as a Peace Corps volunteer during the 1980s.

Building shelters in Leogane after the January 12, 2010 earthquake. View IRD's photos from Haiti. Gallery I | Gallery II

IRD is helping to provide shelter, sanitation, and hygiene assistance, as well as medicine, clothes, and shoes, to 28,000 individuals in Leogane, Haiti.

IRD established a presence in
Haiti on January 18, in order to provide emergency assistance in response to the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas on January 12. The field team included experts in rapid response and assessment, refugee camp management, infrastructure, and health, who focused their initial efforts on providing basic humanitarian aid, such as water, food, sanitation, medicines, and shelter materials.

IRD has shipped and distributed medical supplies, antibiotics, anti-diarrhea medicines, oral rehydration salts, water purifiers, respirator masks, solar-powered lights, and additional humanitarian aid. To date, IRD has received more than $16 million worth of in-kind relief commodities.

On March 3, IRD received nearly $6.5 million in support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). These funds are helping to provide shelter, sanitation, and hygiene assistance, as well as medicine, clothes, and shoes, to 28,000 individuals in Leogane, Haiti. More than 1200 temporary shelters have been constructed thus far, in addition to the tarps distributed immediately following the earthquake.

As part of its rapid response to the recent cholera outbreak, IRD announced it would be working with the Government of Haiti, the United Nations and other non-governmental organizations to halt the spread of the deadly viral disease. In addition to the coordination efforts, IRD distributed sanitation materials and medicine to combat the disease.

IRD has provided substantial emergency support to Haiti in the past. In advance of the 2009 hurricane season, IRD shipped more than $4 million dollars worth of oral rehydration salts and pharmaceuticals for people in Haiti. The previous hurricane season had left the Haitian people vulnerable to life-threatening diseases that rapidly spread with the consumption of contaminated water. The salts and pharmaceuticals were distributed by ADRA Haiti and Food For The Poor, and UNICEF Canada. IRD also distributed a shipment of shoes in Port-au-Prince in December 2009. World Vision donated the 1,200 pairs of shoes, worth $49,704, to IRD for shipment to Haiti through America’s Relief Team and Harvest International.

Cash contributions continue to be critical to the relief efforts in Haiti:

An estimated 3.5 million individuals have been affected by this disaster. The IRD Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund has raised more than $300,000 to help the people of Haiti. Those who wish to donate can also call 1-866-595-1100, or text REBUILD to 85944.

You can stay up-to-date on the latest Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts by following us on Twitter @ird_relief, or become a fan of us on Facebook under the name International Relief and Development. You can also read more about the team's experiences in IRD's blog, Voices from the Field, or see the photo gallery of the assessment and the team's time in Haiti.

To request an interview, please contact Melissa Price at press@ird-dc.org or 571-366-1596.