In Haiti, relief efforts slowly continue following weeks of deadly tropical storms and hurricanes. Some 1,000 people have been killed and more than a million displaced since the first storm hit the island last month. The city of Gonaives remains vulnerable to water-borne disease as residents try to salvage the remains of their homes. Raphael Chuinard of the World Food Program said the combination of health risks and desperate residents have forced food distribution to move outside the city.

Raphael Chuinard: “We started last week by distributing food within the city in various areas in the city, but it has been quite difficult because of the tension in the city and for security reasons and for health reasons, because to avoid to have the beneficiaries at risk in the pressure of the crowd, we decided to have the food distribution centers a little bit outside of the city for the moment.”

The Bush administration has pledged just $10 million to emergency relief in Haiti. Gonaives resident Nadege Yliome appealed for more Western aid.

Nadege Yliome: “We would like to ask people to help take care of us, because children can’t bear this. We are older and can spend two days without eating, but children can’t. I have two children. One is eight and the other one is
four years old. They are now in the countryside.”