How is the U.S. Government responding to the needs of children affected by the recent earthquake?
The U.S. Government (USG) responded immediately to the needs of Haitians affected by the earthquake. To date, $537,616,769 in emergency humanitarian assistance has been provided by USAID and the Department of Defense.6 The USG is using several mechanisms to ensure that funding is being put to immediate and good use including UNICEF, the World Food Program (WFP), the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as well as U.S. and international faith-based and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services and CARE. The USG’s top child protection priority is to meet the basic needs of children and families for food, water, sanitation, health and shelter. This basic assistance allows families to remain intact and assists parents in providing and caring for their children. For those children who are truly on their own, the USG priority is to support protection and care arrangements t
