Ban Ki Moon and his spokesperson just briefed the press. The UN has confirmed 37 deaths. 36 of whom were affiliated with the peacekeeping mission, MINUSTAH. One of whom worked for the World Food Program. 330 people are still missing and unaccounted for out of a total UN presence of 12,000.
Meanwhile, Ban Ki Moon said that as many as 50% of buildings in worst hit areas are damaged or destroyed. He said a large proportion of 3 million people are without access to food and water.
By Yolanda Johnny Taylor, Director of Communications for the UN Foundation's Women and Population Program
Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti reminds us how vulnerable women and children are - particularly in times of disaster. Poor and disadvantaged women tend to be unequally affected by natural disasters and are often overrepresented in death tolls.
Our attention is rightly directed to rescuing people trapped in collapsed buildings.
As I said in my Daily Beast item, one of the best things that Haiti has going for it right now is Bill Clinton. Last spring, the Secretary General tapped the former president to be his special envoy for Haiti.
Haiti has justifiably been taking up alot of energy and focus of the United Nations over the last two days. But it is worth noting that there has been a long scheduled meeting of entrepreneurs and investors concerned about climate change at the UN today.
The first wave of international rescue and relief efforts will touch down on the ground in Haiti today. As that happens, the scale of the disaster is likely to come to light. I fear that it will be worse than we can imagine. For the UN, this will likely be the single worst tragedy in its history.
CNN deserves plaudits for its relentless Haiti coverage. Sanjay Gupta just interviewed President Rene Preval at the airport in Port Au Prince. The president seemed completely dazed--and it is not hard to see why. Preval himself said he hasn't slept since last night--and has no idea where he'll spend then night. Like most other buildings, his palace has been destroyed.
Another excellent Twitter account. The user posts a picture of a makeshift IDP camp.
See this post for a statement from the acting MINUSTAH spokesperson. As of noon, a UN official said at least 50-100 people were still trapped in the rubble.
On a conference call with Medicines sans Frontiere moments ago, a representative in Haiti said that all of the hospitals to which it would normally refer patients have either collapsed or are otherwise unusable. All MSF can do at the moment is administer first aid. There are no "referral" options for secondary care beyond first aid, but MSF is exploring options to deploy a "floating hospital" to Haiti.
A UN Dispatch reader and close UN observor summarizes some of the initial reactions from the UN and the UN's role in Haiti at the moment.
