A Royal Navy ship is today being loaded up with UK aid for Haiti and is expected to set sail this week, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said today. The aid will help thousands of Haitian people rebuild their lives.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Supplies ship Largs Bay will be carrying essential materials to provide temporary shelter for people who have lost their homes; water purification tablets; heavy lifting equipment; and 4x4 vehicles.
This is part of the UK Government's £20 million emergency aid programme for the earthquake victims in Haiti, which has already helped more than 350,000 people get food, clean water, shelter and medicine.
The RFA Largs Bay, which has been dispatched at the request of the United Nations, will be loading up on Monday and Tuesday. It is expected to stay in the region for some time, to help ferry essential supplies around different ports in Haiti.
Among the supplies on board will be:
* Water purification tablets to disinfect 2.8 million litres of water.
* Corrugated metal sheets, and plastic sheeting, to provide essential shelter for up to 2,000 homeless families ahead of the rainy season.
* Jerry cans which will help provide clean water for 6,000 families.
* More than 40 4x4 vehicles, which will be used by charities including the International Red Cross to move medical staff and supplies around Haiti as part of the international relief effort.
* Heavy lifting equipment, including six forklift trucks, which will speed up getting aid off supply ships and into the areas of Haiti which need help.
International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said:
"The people of Haiti have been through one of the worst disasters in living memory. They desperately need the international community's help in the weeks and months ahead.
"UK aid is already providing emergency relief for the people of Haiti and RFA Largs Bay will bring more help. She will carry badly needed supplies to Haiti, and the ship and the crew will stay on in the area to help as part of the UK's contribution to the international aid effort."
Background:
Douglas Alexander announced to the House of Commons on 20th January 2010 that RFA Largs Bay would be sent to Haiti.
So far, DFID's overall contribution to the relief effort includes:
* £1m for the Haitian Red Cross to provide food, shelter, clean water and other immediate needs for 20,000 families
* £2m for the World Food Programme for transport, communications and base camps to help with the logistics of getting relief where it's needed
* £300,000 for the World Health Organisation for disease surveillance, to help prevent the spread of epidemics such as malaria and dengue fever
* £1m to help the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs bring in more than 30 extra staff to help bolster humanitarian coordination;
* Allocating Oxfam with £1 million, Action Against Hunger with £1 million, and Handicap International with £500,000.
* Pledging help towards rebuilding Haiti's Government, such as the Justice, Interior and Finance Ministries. This will help the Government of Haiti to re-establish law and order and improve infrastructure. This support from the UK Government will include extra communications, office equipment, logistics and other vital equipment.
For more information, please call Department for International Development press office on: 0207 023 0600.
