The latest on our response

Photo: Jenny Vaughan/Mercy Corps

Here's the latest update on our work in Haiti:

Water and sanitation assessments continue in various badly affected neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince. Sanitation, including in the General Hospital, appears to be a particularly pressing and neglected need.

Several communities are being identified for potential cash-for-work programs. One community of approximately 600 people on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince will likely be the site of our pilot program, hopefully starting early next week.

Our response team continues to grow and diversify. Additions include Diane Johnson, our global economic coordinator, who arrived today, and Comfort for Kids lead Griffen Samples, who flies in from Santo Domingo tomorrow. Doug Lyon, our Portland-based director of health programs, will arrive Wednesday. Logistics and program specialists Gene Kunze and Brian Atkinson are now in Port-au-Prince.

Mercy Corps CEO Neal Keny-Guyer and President Nancy Lindborg have left Port-au-Prince after a weekend of observing damage, talking to survivors, and strategizing with the Mercy Corps team, government officials and peer organizations about priorities and next steps.