With tens of thousands feared dead and over three million left injured, homeless and traumatised by the earthquake on Haiti, aid agencies are mobilising to meet the most immediate needs of victims. 

Top priorities for agencies delivering aid are water and sanitation, food, shelter and medical supplies.  At this moment, RedR has members on standby for potential deployment into the affected areas and it has also received a request for WATSAN engineers. In addition, it has responded to requests for specialist advice from its technical support service.  Some members are already in the country providing support.

RedR is liaising with the major agencies on the ground and plans to send a team to Haiti in the next few days to undertake a full needs assessment to understand the training requirements of aid agencies who are responding to the crisis. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and it simply does not have the infrastructure to manage a rescue operation. The country will need urgent medical and food aid.  RedR anticipates that this will be a protracted emergency with long-term needs, including the rebuilding of infrastructure.  So far information suggests that water and sanitation, shelter and security will be major issues.

RedR member, Joseph Ashmore, who worked in Haiti last year after the flooding in Gonaives, fears recovery may be difficult: 'There will be serious issues in the longer term requiring support from organisations like RedR long after the earthquake has faded from the news. It will be a complex urban reconstruction with multi-storey houses and a history of chronic poverty and unrest.'

RedR urgently needs £20,000 to enable its team to fly out as soon as possible. There are likely to be further needs beyond this.

You can help in a number of ways:

Donate to RedR's emergency response fund via its website (www.redr.org.uk). Donations will be used to help RedR respond to the needs of the relief workers on the ground right now and in the future.

Get involved - You can help by running the London Marathon, 'Wearing Red for RedR' on 12 February or taking part in the Disaster Relief Challenge. Funds raised from these events will help RedR develop and deliver training to give relief agencies and their staff the skills they need to respond to disaster situations in the most effective way.  Full details on how you can help can be found on the RedR website.