Photo stories: Haiti

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, killing more than 200,000 people, displacing another 2.3 million people and destroying much of the capital’s infrastructure. It led to the one of the largest humanitarian operations ever mounted to provide assistance to the survivors. Here, a US helicopter prepares to land on the lawn of the damaged Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince. UN Photo/M. Dormino

Ten months later, humanitarian actors faced a new crisis when a severe cholera epidemic broke out and spread rapidly across the entire country. It infected 500,000 Haitians, and has killed 7,000 people. Many camps for displaced people remain crowded and prone to unsanitary conditions. Here, workers load medical emergency supplies to a UN helicopter fortransportation and distribution to cholera victims. UN Photo/UNICEF/M. Dormino

Two years on, a sustained and colossal humanitarian operation in response to the earthquake and the cholera epidemic has yielded remarkable results and continues to save lives – but concerns remain. Here, children play amidst houses built by the UN and its NGO partners for people who were living in tents just outside the capital, Port-au-Prince. UN Photo/OCHA

Despite the gains on the road to recovery, humanitarian assistance will still be needed in 2012 to provide basic services to more than half a million displaced people still stranded in camps, as well as to help contain the cholera epidemic. Here, a family finds shelter in a makeshift tent city. UN Photo/L. Abassi

A new challenge is that many donors feel that the humanitarian phase is over and are focusing on long-term development. “But right now we still have 490,000 people in camps, we are still in the midst of a cholera epidemic where we need immediate action to protect water, to ensure better sanitation, health education… we need support for those,” said the UN Resident Coordinator for Haiti, Nigel Fisher. UN Photo/V. Hazou

Since the beginning of the cholera epidemic, health partners have been supporting the Ministry of Public Health and Population. Thousands of hospital beds were set up, tons of medication, soap and water-purification tablets were distributed and thousands of community members were trained in hygiene promotion. This has resulted in a steady decrease in fatality rates. UN Photo/S. Paris

Schools and hospitals have been rebuilt, and more children are being educated today than before the earthquake. A joint national contingency plan, developed with the international community for the first time, has been replicated in all ten departments in Haiti should another major natural disaster strike the count. UN Photo/V. Hazou

Of particular concern is the rainy season and its impact on reconstruction and health projects. During last year’s rainy season, people were killed or went missing as heavy rain pummelled the country, flooding roads and displacement camps and collapsing houses in Port au Prince; the flooding also retarded efforts to deal with the cholera outbreak. Here, a girl crosses a flooded street in Raboto. UN Photo/UNICEF/M. Dormino

Here, military engineers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) work to clean debris blocking canals around Port-au-Prince, in an attempt to minimize flooding during the rainy season. The Caribbean nation has a high level of vulnerability to natural disasters, particularly during the rain and hurricane season, which lasts from April to November. UN Photo/L. Abassi

Following concerns that UN peacekeepers introduced the cholera outbreak to Haiti, the United Nations has set up an Independent Panel of Cholera Experts on Haiti to look into the epidemic’s origins. Here, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (centre) meets with the Panel’s Chair and it's Members. UN Photo/E. Schneider