Update (2/23/10): The latest figure for total amount of money raised for Haiti relief by the American Red Cross is $284 million as of today.
Recently, we’ve been seeing some confusion from readers and bloggers online about the allocation of funds for Haiti relief. We would like to clarify how our Haiti relief funds are being used and how we are planning for their allocation in the future.
In just over a month, the American Red Cross has already spent or allocated $80 million of the $284 million donated to meet the most urgent needs of Haiti’s earthquake survivors.
The $80 million allocated so far has gone towards immediate relief for Haitians – 69% for food and water, 20% for shelter, and 11% for health and family services. The remaining $204 million will be spent as the Red Cross continues to focus on finding communities and populations in need in Haiti in order to give them the things they can use to survive this difficult situation.
Every donated dollar will be spent on relief in Haiti; because of the generosity of our donors, people in Haiti will receive resources, support and training from the Red Cross that will help them recover and rebuild in the years ahead.
Recovery in Haiti has a long road ahead. The American Red Cross was first on the ground after the earthquake struck Haiti and will see Haiti through this initial relief phase and beyond.
The scale of the disaster, significant number of people in need, rubble that remains in the city and a weakened government all provide ongoing challenges to the operation. However, in just over one month since the earthquake in Haiti, the Red Cross has helped more than 1.3 million people and will continue to aid hundreds of thousands more in the months ahead. We believe that it’s important to get relief there as quickly as possible, but also to be thoughtful and responsible in how we spend the money that has been entrusted to us.