News Room
Haiti Response Summit - February 9, 2010
Remarks by Jean-Pierre Taschereau
Jean-Pierre Taschereau, the Senior Manager of the International Emergency Response team for the Canadian Red Cross returned from Haiti on February 7th. He was deployed to Haiti one day after the earthquake struck to lead the International Red Cross field assessment team. Upon his return he addressed participants at the Haiti Response Summit, which brought together 25 National Red Cross Societies from around the world.
It will take a while to process what I saw and experienced in Haiti, but I know that this experience has changed me, and all of us, forever.
There has been a massive humanitarian response in Haiti so far. This momentum, this ball of energy, began when Haitian Red Cross volunteers began pulling people from the rubble just minutes after the earthquake struck. These volunteers are working around the clock to support earthquake survivors.
Red Cross humanitarian efforts have continued with the deployment of 21 International Red Cross Emergency Response Units and over 600 International Red Cross aid workers, the production and distribution of 1 million litres of water per day, relief items distributed to over 185,000 people and medical care provided to over 14,000 people in Red Cross medical facilities.
We are being innovative by reaching millions of people with health messages through an SMS texting campaign. These messages will help save lives and reduce the risks of future health epidemics.
We do this work under the protection of our emblem - the Red Cross - and thanks to the support and goodwill the public has toward the Haitian Red Cross.
We need to keep this good work going, which is why this meeting is a turning point. It's an opportunity to ensure that the coordination we've seen so far continues; coordination such as Iranian Red Crescent doctors working with Haitian Red Cross volunteers, and Canadian Red Cross nurses working alongside Magen David Adom (Red Crystal Society in Israel) medics.
We must work to keep this coordination going, keep this momentum flowing and build back better.
