The financial contribution of members and associate members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) reaches US$5 million as the British Virgin Islands announce a US$80,000 contribution.
Brigadier General (Ret) Earl Arthurs of Belize, who was appointed as the Special Coordinator on the ground, led the CARICOM tactical mission to Haiti on Sunday, 22 January, 2010. General Arthurs (Ret) is responsible for ensuring that the Community’s Haiti Response Mission for the Haiti Earthquake is effectively pursued on the ground in Haiti. Arthurs is also the link between the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Haiti’s Government and the other coordination mechanisms in Haiti. CDEMA recommends financial contributions rather than goods, as logistical challenges continue on the grounds of the disaster zone.
CARICOM leaders continue to focus on the Community’s sustained assistance to Haiti in the area of health. Meeting at the headquarters of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency management Agency (CDEMA) in Bridgetown, Barbados last Friday 22 January, the Chief Medical Officers within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and representatives of regional institutions worked on the plan for the “Community’s continued Health Intervention in Haiti after the devastating earthquake of 12 January.”
The planners sought to determine the mechanisms through which a sustained Region-wide health intervention would be implemented in Haiti. They discussed the phases of the intervention and the financial and human resources necessary to allow for continued delivery of critical health services.
The CARICOM secretariat indicated that the tactical mission deployed to Haiti on Sunday 17 January to assess the situation on the ground, was scheduled to present its findings to guide the regional health personnel in their discussions.
The Caribbean community continues its efforts, to help the sister country, which started hours after the earthquake. The need for skilled supply management and logistics disaster management personnel is clearly obvious as an additional 26 member team from the CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit of CDEMA, including soldiers, police officers and fire officers from 11 countries was deployed on Thursday 21 January.
Haiti’s Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive expressed his country’s gratitude for the quick response of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in the wake of the devastating earthquake of Tuesday 12 January 2010. Speaking to the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), which was part of CARICOM's Tactical Mission to Haiti, Mr. Bellerive said his country was “indeed grateful for the quick response of the CARICOM leaders to our plight.”
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