Haiti Earthquake: 2 years on

Save the Children has worked in Haiti to improve children’s well-being through health care and education programs since 1978.

On 12 January 2010, Haiti was struck by an earthquake that killed 230,000 people, destroyed 400,000 homes and left 2 million people homeless. Two years later, more than 500,000 people still live in tents, millions still need jobs, and cholera is still a major problem, one which Haiti will face for years to come.

We're helping build back better so that children like Andrise can pursue their dreams.

Approximately 46 per cent of Haiti’s population is under the age of 18, making Save the Children’s efforts to meet their unique needs a critical element in the country’s larger emergency response and subsequent recovery. A country that continues to reel from destruction and loss is a very dangerous place for children.

Donate to our Children's Emergency Fund today.

Valentina Metelus, 8, waits outside of Ecole Splendeur Mixte in the Carrefour neighborhood outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Save the Children rebuilt the earthquake and hurricane resistant school. Photo by Lane Harthill/Save the Children.

Emergency Response & Recovery

We were able to immediately launch efforts to bring food, shelter, health care and other assistance to more than 879,000 survivors of Haiti’s earthquake.

Read about our work providing emergency education and healthcare for earthquake-affected children and families.

In partnership with the government of Haiti and the Haitian people, Save the Children is committed to a five-year recovery program to work towards rebuilding access to health care, nutrition, education and sanitation for children and their families.

Donate to our Children's Emergency Fund today.

To date, our work has included:

Haiti: Emergency Education & Healthcare Project

EDUCATION 31,527 children enrolled in 176 schools reached by the Quality Education Initiative (QEI) focused on teacher and school administrator training, provision of teaching and learning materials, and formation of parent support groups Trained 1,240 teachers and school directors on the national school administration support and supervision manual and on the national curriculum Completed construction of 229 classrooms in 38 schools in earthquake-affected areas benefiting over 13,575 children Supported 23 schools to create school emergency plans and trained School Emergency Response Team members on first aid Trained 176 teachers and 7,268 students on Disaster Risk Reduction Read about Save the Children’s work training Linel, a sixth grade teacher, on how to make learning more interactive.
HEALTH & NUTRITION Staffed or supported 30 facilities providing antenatal care, postnatal and newborn care Supported 30 facilities providing curative child health services and supported community outreach Supported 10 cholera treatment units that have treated over 11,000 cholera cases Formed 54 breastfeeding support groups supporting 6,878 infant-mother pairs Screened 25,378 children under the age of five for acute malnutrition Read about Save the Children’s health clinics that are helping support families like like Darline, Marclene and Marckensely.
FOOD SECURITY & LIVELIHOODS Provided asset replacement grants for the recovery of the stock of personal property to approximately 3,500 families living in camps Supported 45 small and medium-sized construction-related businesses with tools and materials, technical guidance, business development training Supported 350 female market entrepreneurs with technical guidance and financial support. Provided vouchers for fresh food to 250 households Provided staple crop seeds and agricultural tools to 2,419 farmers Read about Save the Children’s partnership with Build Change, a construction development organization, to teach brick makers like Jurice how to make stronger bricks.
CHILD PROTECTION Supported the management of the government-led database on separated children, with participating agencies registering more than 3,690 children in 2011, and conducted monitoring/follow up visits of registered children Trained 54 participants from 12 agencies on child protection and community mobilization, gender issues, supporting vulnerable families, alternative care options, temporary care, disaster risk reduction and guiding principles for child trafficking cases. Supported 39 community-based child protection committees, with 468 members, to identify, monitor, prevent and take action on child protection issues in their communities and work with children through established children’s clubs, in which more than 3,600 children are regular participants Read about Save the Children’s child protection program that provides training and materials for children’s clubs .
WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE Provided over 40,000 people with sustained access to basic WASH services, including water trucking, chlorination, water point maintenance, latrine cleaning and maintenance, solid waste management, and hygiene promotion Distributed hygiene and water treatment supplies reaching over 80,000 people Provided access to drinking water, sanitation and handwashing facilities in 38 schools Trained over 300 teachers on hygiene promotion and cholera prevention and reached over 7,000 children with hygiene promotion messages
DISASTER RISK REDUCTION Supported 15 commune- and local-level Civil Protection Committees with equipment, small mitigation projects, reinforcement of and training on creation of Community Emergency Response Plans, first aid, and search and rescue Trained 600 volunteers on how to carry out awareness campaigns to sensitize populations on major risks
HIV/AIDS Supported 864 children affected by HIV/AIDS with home visits, children’s groups, and support for school fees Supported 1,100 people living with AIDS with access to microcredit and professional training, home visits, support groups, and access to services

How you can Help

Donate to our Children's Emergency Fund today.

Further Information



Factsheet: our work in Haiti (2012) Factsheet with full details about our emergency response and recovery work.	Report: Building Hope in Haiti (2012) A look inside Haitians’ lives two years after the earthquake.	Case Study: Emergency Education & Healthcare Provision (2010-2011) Emergency project to address the educational and health needs of children and families affected by the earthquake.


Report: A Country at a Crossroads (2011) One year report looking at the situation for Haiti’s children one year after the earthquake. French version.	Report: Rebuilding for the Future (2010) Six months report looking at serving children now and rebuilding for their future.