Emergency Aid
Donors who want to help now should focus on organizations that have the capacity to deliver emergency services rapidly. There are many organizations on the ground and others that are quickly gearing up to deliver large-scale aid. The physical extent of the damage in Port-Au-Prince has made it difficult even for organizations with field offices to maintain normal operations.

Donors should be clear-eyed about the difficult logistical problems that nonprofits will have delivering aid and care. Nonprofits that have not worked in Haiti will have greater difficulty delivering help in a responsive way.

For immediate response contributions, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors recommends the following international aid organizations:

Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti - A model for health care facilities in developing countries and located in Port-au-Prince and Deschapelles. Though they withstood the earthquake and are operating with full staff, seeking funds for replacement medicine and supplies and to pay overtime wages to 900 Haitian personnel.  Web site:  www.hashaiti.org

UNICEF - Has been in Haiti since 1949 and is coordinating with all UN agencies on the ground to provide supplies for access to adequate sanitation, safe water and basic health care, especially for children. Airlifted 10,000 tarpaulins, 4,600 water containers, 5.5 million water-purification tablets, 556,000 oral rehydration sachets and other supplies to meet the basic needs of up to 10,000 families. Supply shipments for an additional 20,000 families are in the works for the coming days.  Web site:  www.unicefusa.org

Doctors Without Borders - Sending 70 additional staff to support their 800 staff on the ground, some of whom are as yet unaccounted for. Setting up clinics in tents to replace their damaged facilities; have thus far treated over 1000 people.  Web site:  www.doctorswithoutborders.org

CARE - Has 133 personnel on the ground, many of whom were sent to respond to 2008’s Hurricane Hanna. They have partnered with Delta Air Lines to deploy more emergency staff and are distributing high-protein biscuits from their warehouses in Haiti.  Web site:  www.care.org

Oxfam International - Emergency response team for Latin America is based in Haiti, with 100 staff and 15 emergency specialists. Sent six extra staff and materials from Oxfordshire warehouse, including plastic sheeting and equipment for water distribution, purification and storage.  Web site:  www.oxfam.org

Catholic Relief Services - Has worked in Haiti for 55 years with 340 staff (120 in Port-au-Prince); has made an immediate commitment of $5 million for supplies including plastic sheeting, hygiene kits, mosquito nets and water purification tablets.  Web site:  http://crs.org

Save The Children - Has worked in Haiti for 25 years with 100 staff, some of whom are as yet unaccounted for; setting up shelter and child-friendly spaces.  Web site:  www.savethechildren.org

Partners In Health - More than 120 doctors and nearly 500 nurses and nursing assistants in Haiti; facilities are two hours outside of Port-au-Prince but they have set up a supply chain through the Dominican Republic to establish mobile field hospitals in the capital.  Web site:  www.pih.org

American Red Cross - Has released $10 million to support relief efforts. In addition to the 15 Red Cross staff already in Haiti, six disaster management specialists are being deployed to the disaster zone to help coordinate relief efforts. At this time, the American Red Cross is only deploying volunteers specially trained to manage international emergency operations.  Web site:  www.redcross.org

Longer Term Rebuilding Efforts

Local community based organizations with a social justice lens are the most likely to deliver relief within the context of a long-term strategy to rebuild. Additionally, those with a gender lens that know how women are uniquely and disproportionately affected by disaster can identify the best ways to meet women’s needs and elevate women’s solutions as they work within their families and communities to recover and rebuild.   

MS Foundation for Women recommends funding:
 
Global Fund for Women: The Global Fund advocates for and defends women's human rights by making grants to support women's groups around the world. They are currently trying to assess the extent to which their five Haitian partner organizations have been affected by the disaster, and are asking them for guidance on how best to provide immediate relief to women and girls. You can donate to support their long-term work to address gender-specific needs resulting from the earthquake through their Crisis Fund.  Web site:  www.globalfundforwomen.org
 
Grassroots International: Grassroots International supports global movements for social change with a particular focus on advancing the initiatives of peasants, family farmers, women and Indigenous groups to protect human rights to land, water and food. They work with four main groups in Haiti, two of which have offices in Port-au-Prince and networks throughout the country. They have a long history of providing emergency relief and their Haitian partners, closely connected to the needs of their communities, are in a “key position to rebuild.”   Web site:  www.grassrootsonline.org
 
Lambi Fund of Haiti: The Lambi Fund’s overarching goal is to strengthen civil society by channeling financial and other resources to community-based organizations that promote the social and economic empowerment of the Haitian people; support for women’s organizing is a core focus of their work. The Lambi Fund’s first step in emergency response is to help members of peasant groups get food and essentials for their families to re-establish their lives; they will also help rebuild over the long-term.  Web site:  www.lambifund.org

Fonkoze:  The largest microfinance organization in Haiti, with 40 branches across the country specifically serving women, will play a role in Haiti’s longer-term economic recovery. Their main office was devastated in the earthquake and they are collecting donations to rehabilitate their organization. With 765 employees, they serve 55,000 borrowers and 175,000 savers, with a combined $12mm portfolio.  Web site:  www.fonkoze.org

Partners in Health: PIH has worked in Haiti for over two decades to bring sustainable, community-based health care and social justice to Haiti’s poor. Its partner organization Zanmi Lasante is now one of the largest nongovernmental health care providers in the country; women’s health has always been a strong component of their outreach. In response to the earthquake, PIH is leveraging the skills of Zanmi’s more than 120 doctors and nearly 500 nurses and nursing assistants, setting up field hospital sites in Port-au-Prince, and ensuring that field sites beyond the capital are equipped to address the needs of those fleeing the city.  Web site:  www.pih.org