First food distribution in the region of Saint Marc

Yesterday, ACTED achieved the very first food distribution in the Lower Artibonite Region, in the rural areas around the town of Saint-Marc, fifty kilometers in the North of Port-au-Prince. Spared by the earthquake, this particular region is nonetheless left to handle the inflows of thousands of displaced populations. Just a few days after the disaster, the latter fled the earthquake-affected areas to find refuge at their relatives’ house. Actually, many of these fleeing populations originally come from the Artibonite Region, which they left to settle in Port-au-Prince for studies or work. As the earthquake devastated the capital-city, these people were compelled to come back. In result, the Artibonite Region, already suffering from chronic poverty, is now left with incommensurable needs. Already present in the region prior to the earthquake, ACTED is today conducing a food relief emergency response, before undertaking longer-term development projects. In the light of the several assessments they led, the ACTED teams have identified 45,000 people in need of food assistance. Yesterday, as the first distribution was held in the town of Grande Saline, 395 people received full food rations comprising rice, beans, oil and salt. ACTED is ready to provide numerous food rations in the forthcoming days, aiming at eventually covering the entire food needs in the area. New assessments are currently underway in order to measure the extent to which these distributions are beneficial to both households and local agricultural production. Additional projects, combing both a support to vulnerable people and an economic recovery, will be held to set the ground for a swift socio-economic integration of the displaced people.