From Government of Canada

October 8, 2016 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, today announced an allocation of $3.8 million in response to the needs assessments currently being conducted in Haiti and the region.

This funding follows the October 6 allocation of $780,000 to the Canadian Red Cross, Save the Children Canada, and Oxfam Canada to quickly respond to the ongoing situation in the Caribbean. This brings Canada’s total humanitarian aid contribution to $4.58 million.

From this $3.8 million, $3.5 million is for Haiti and will target the most pressing and emerging needs, including food assistance, health, nutrition, shelter and protection.

The remaining $300,000 will be allocated for Cuba and will help respond to food assistance and logistical needs to support operations on the ground.

This additional assistance will be delivered through key United Nations humanitarian agencies and international organizations currently playing central roles in relief efforts, and will be critical in delivering life-saving assistance in the coming days and weeks.

Global Affairs Canada, working with the Canadian Red Cross, is also preparing to dispatch relief supplies including tarpaulins, shelter toolkits, kitchen sets, hygiene kits, and containers to safely transport clean water, from warehouses in Mississauga Ontario to support emergency relief operations in Haiti. The relief supplies will be distributed by the Haitian Red Cross Society, to help meet the immediate needs of up to 2,000 families affected by the hurricane.

Canada’s Disaster Assessment Team has been critical in providing information on the scope of needs in Haiti, allowing us to respond without delay to those in need of immediate life-saving assistance.

Quotes

“This funding will help ensure that Canada’s assistance will also focus on the most vulnerable and hard to reach, including women and children. The Government of Canada is ready to assist the people affected by this devastating hurricane. ” – Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie

Quick facts

On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew tore through Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

The Government of Haiti is expected to receive an insurance payout as a result of hurricane Matthew, of just over USD $20 million from the CCRIF SPC (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility). Global Affairs Canada provided funding to the World Bank multi-donor trust fund to provide catastrophe risk insurance in central America and Caribbean, formerly known as CCRIF. The Government of Canada remains committed to assist the people affected by Hurricane Matthew in their time of need.

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IMAGE: www.crcid.org