2010 Haiti earthquake

Post-earthquake rehabilitation response in Haiti

: © CBM
Louis-Pierre Shadrach (a rehabilitation technician) during a physiotherapy session with a patient in a Disability Vunerable Focal Point (DVFP) at the Adventist Hospital in Port-au-Prince. February 2011

A recent study conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has shown that CBM and partners are playing a crucial role in developing the capacity of the rehabilitation sector in Haiti, after the 2010 earthquake.

Study completed in January 2012

In January 2010 Haiti was hit by an earthquake of unprecedented scale. CBM, with 30 years of experience in the country, was involved in the initial emergency phase and has continued to support partners since then.

In January 2012 The International Centre for Evidence in Disability at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), with great support from the CBM Country Coordination Office in Haiti, completed a nine-month 'Evaluation of Post-Earthquake Physical Rehabilitation Response in Haiti, 2010'.

Findings - CBM 'pivotal link'

The study findings show that CBM with its partner network and advocacy activities in Haiti has been (and still is) playing a crucial role in developing the capacity of the rehabilitation sector in Haiti as part of CBM’s response and relief activities, in order to ensure that short- and long-term physical rehabilitation needs of people in Haiti are met.

Furthermore, a social network analysis reveals that CBM constitutes a pivotal link between various actors in the field of rehabilitation to improve coordination, share expertise and use synergy.

Nevertheless it is also acknowledged that there are still challenges in the coordination of measures and actors and in achieving sustainability according to the needs and potentials in the post-earthquake situation in Haiti.