As the reconstruction efforts proceed in Haiti, there will be many disability related needs to be met. For instance, several media outlets ¹ have reported on the numerous persons who have experienced limb amputations in Port au Prince as a result of the direct injury and/or subsequent medical circumstances, such as infections.

There are several recent initiatives that have begun to address the needs of persons with disabilities in Haiti.

• The "Building Resilient Communities: Risk Management and Response to Natural Disasters through Social Funds and Community-Driven Development Operations"  is an excellent resource. In particular, please see Module 8 on Disability.
• Handicap International (HI) has prepared a report on persons with disabilities in Haiti: 
  Earthquake of 12th January, 2010 - Haiti: Preliminary findings about persons with injuries - Greater Port au Prince Area.

• In response to Disability Issues in the Haiti Response and Recovery Effort, USAID has convened a Working Group of technical experts to coordinate a response at the immediate, transitional, and long-term phases of the recovery efforts. In addition to working directly with other US Federal Agencies, USAID will coordinate its efforts with DPOs and the Global Partnership for Disability and Development (GPDD). For more information please see "USAID – Response to Disability Issues in the Haiti Response and Recovery Efforts".
• In addition to participating with USAID, the Global Partnership for Disability and Development (GPDD) is spearheading its own efforts via a "Working Group focused on the Reconstruction of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti to ensure that reconstructions efforts in Haiti involve people with disabilities during all stages and that all rebuilt and newly built infrastructure is fully accessible to and usable by people with disabilities and everyone else who may need accessible infrastructure. Working Group participants are expected to design a common strategy and cooperate by examining opportunities for collaboration, establishing partnerships among interested parties, and coordinating advocacy efforts."
  The GPDD listserv circulates information from related organizations about disability and inclusive development in Haiti’s reconstruction efforts For information about this task force or the listserv, please contact the GPDD  at:
  (202) 296-5392 [voice]
  gpdd-info@law.syr.edu
  
  Prior to this disaster, the GPDD commissioned a forthcoming paper on natural disaster and persons with disabilities, including case studies: floods in Bangladesh, hurricanes Katrina and Gustav and Java earthquake. Please watch for the announcement of the release of this publication.