On the fifth anniversary of the earthquake that killed an estimated 217,000 Haitians, the International Organisation for migration (IOM) has released its latest Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), which shows that although 94 per cent of the internally displaced persons have left camps and other temporary sites, almost 80,000 remain displaced.
In a release, the IOM said that its latest DTM states that an estimated 21,218 households or 79,397 individuals still reside in 105 sites.
“Although we are happy to report on the fifth anniversary of the earthquake that IOM has registered a 94 per cent decrease in the number of Haitians displaced, and a 93 per cent decrease in the number of sites still housing displaced populations, the international community must not forget the almost 80,000 persons that continue to wait for their chance to rebuild their lives with a proper roof over their heads,” said Gregoire Goodstein, IOM Chief of Mission in Haiti.
During the DTM’s latest reporting period (October to December 2014), return programmes offering rental subsidies were responsible for the closure of 18 sites and the relocation of 900 households. No camps were closed due to evictions or by spontaneous returns this period.
Led by the Government of Haiti, and in collaboration with IOM and other partners, return programmes since 2010 resulted in the closure of a total of 475 sites, and helped relocate approximately 75,500 displaced households (259,200 individuals), the release said.
