Haiti earthquake crisis: How to donate to help relief efforts from the UK

Rescuers continue to search for survivors after 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti

A boy is tended to outside Les Cayes General Hospital after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake on 15 August 2021 in Les Cayes, Haiti (Getty Images)

On Saturday, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti with such force that some towns were flattened and thousands of people were left displaced from their destroyed homes.

The death toll has risen to at least 1,297, and at least 5,700 people have been injured in the disaster. Rescuers are racing to find survivors beneath the rubble before a tropical storm with sustained winds of nearly 40mph is expected to hit the already-battered Caribbean nation.

The storm, named Tropical Depression Grace, is predicted to reach Haiti on Monday night and could bring heavy rain, flooding and landslides. The threat of further devastation comes following months of struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, a presidential assassination and a wave of gang violence in the country.

Tennis champion Naomi Osaka, whose father is Haitian, pledged to donate her earnings from the Western & Southern Open to support earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

She tweeted on Saturday: “Really hurts to see all the devastation that’s going on in Haiti, and I feel like we really can’t catch a break.

“I’m about to play a tournament this week and I’ll give all the prize money to relief efforts for Haiti. I know our ancestors blood is strong we’ll keep rising.”

Charities and NGOs providing earthquake relief efforts have called for donations to help fund rescue missions, as well as get clean water, shelter and treatments for those who are sick and injured.

These are the organisations accepting donations from the UK to help fund relief efforts in Haiti:

ActionAid

ActionAid, which responds to humanitarian crises, emergencies and disasters around the world, is appealing for donations to help emergency teams on the ground in Haiti.

The charity is aiming to assist at least 2,000 households with immediate shelter and emergency food, blankets, pillows, hygiene and dignity kits, protection services for women and girls, psychosocial support for traumatised children and their families, and cash support.

Angeline Annesteur, country director of ActionAid Haiti, said: “In Jérémie, one of the areas most affected, our team is helping with rescue efforts as families desperately try to pull loved ones from the rubble. Sadly, we expect the death toll to continue to rise.

“We are assessing people’s most urgent needs and preparing to respond by providing food, temporary shelter and essential items such as blankets and hygiene kits for women and girls.”

You can donate to ActionAid here.

Hope for Haiti

Hope for Haiti works to reduce poverty in Haiti and is distributing emergency kits to vulnerable individuals and families in Les Cayes.

The humanitarian relief organisation issued an emergency appeal to help its team to respond to the immediate, short-term and long-term needs of the Haitian people following the earthquake.

It has several goals that donations would go towards, including the purchase, import and distribution of US$60m in medication, medical supplies, medical equipment and PPE; 50,000 health consultations, referrals and health education; the distribution of 15,000 Home Water Filtration Systems to those lacking access to clean drinking water; the provision of 1,000 micro grants, 20 loans, financial literary classes and digital currency education; and the removal of rubble and rehabilitation of homes, schools and healthcare facilities in 24 rural and urban communities.

You can donate to Hope for Haiti here.

British Red Cross

The British Red Cross has said its partners at the Haiti Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are responding to the crisis in affected areas in Haiti.

In its appeal for donations, the British Red Cross said: “It’s a complex and changeable situation, but there are immediate, profound needs – a lot of people need help. Right now.

“People have lost their homes, their livelihoods and many will have lost friends and family… But right now there are people who need medical support, and health services will have been severely affected.

“Vast numbers of families need food, water, shelter and hygiene kits.”

You can donate to the British Red Cross here.

Save the Children

Children’s charity, Save the Children, has created an Emergency Fund to help respond to the crisis and help Haitian children affected by the earthquake.

The UN predicts that over 820,000 people in Haiti will have been affected by the disaster, including 250,000 children.

UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore said children who have been separated from parents need protection, adding that there are currently “alarmingly high rates of malnutrition among children” in the country.

Save the Children responds to earthquakes by helping to distribute shelter materials and essential household items, as well as improve water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. It also sets up child-friendly spaces and temporary learning centres so that children can continue their education and receive “specialist emotional support” to help them recover from traumatic experiences.

You can donate to Save the Children here.

Additional reporting by PA