Response to the Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti Following the 12 January 2010 Earthquake: Achievements, Challenges and Lessons To Be Learned

This report is compiled following a request by the Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) at a meeting on 6 May 2010. The report is written 6 months after the 12 January earthquake in Haiti and is concerned primarily with the response by IASC members to the disaster, but necessarily refers to the role of other key actors, including the Haitian population and Government, international militaries, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), and regional entities. The report describes the response of the humanitarian community to the earthquake, outlining the main achievements and challenges encountered, proposes lessons which can be learned from the initial phase of the humanitarian response, and summarizes some aspects of the way forward.