UNICEF as a disaster relief organization: Haiti Earthquake, 2010 (2011 Report)

Table of Contents

Where we looked

All of the below was examined in December 2010.

How much did the organization raise and how much did it spend?

Organization Date Amount Donated
U.S. Fund for UNICEF Jan 29, 2010 $33.8 million1
U.S. Fund for UNICEF Feb 3, 2010 $37.3 million2
U.S. Fund for UNICEF Feb 17, 2010 $49.1 million3
U.S. Fund for UNICEF May 10, 2010 $65.4 million4
U.S. Fund for UNICEF July 9, 2010 $73.1 million5
UNICEF (International) June 25, 2010 $243.4 million6
U.S. Fund for UNICEF (International) Nov 29, 2010 $72.4 million ($300 million worldwide)7
  • The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that the U.S. fund for UNICEF spent $56.3 million as of July 9, 2010. 8
  • UNICEF reported that it spent $70.49 million in its 6-Month Report (as of June 25, 2010).9
  • The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that the U.S. fund for UNICEF spent $112 million (of the worldwide total) as of November 29, 2010.10

How specific is the organization about how it spent its funds?

UNICEF reports a break-down of funds spent on each of seven general categories through June 25, 2010.11

It provides examples of outputs within each of these categories, but it is not clear if these examples are comprehensive for any of the categories and some outputs are not attributed directly to UNICEF.12

UNICEF also reports examples of "numbers of people reached" (or other outputs) of its activities.13

Non-disaster relief activities

  • In its “What We Do” section of the website, UNICEF lists its main activity areas (child survival and development, basic education and gender equality, HIV/ AIDS and children, child protection, and policy advocacy), and gives descriptions and examples in each area. There are also links to further reports on specific projects. 14
  • Following the links allows one to see descriptions of progressively more specific subsets of UNICEF's activities. However, from the examples we've examined, it appears that these descriptions appear general, and do not discuss specific activities and outputs in specific places or the breakdown of funds between programs/projects.15
  • UNICEF's annual reports give examples of its programs in each of its main areas as well as expense break-downs in general categories. 16
  • Neither the annual reports nor other sources give a comprehensive account of UNICEF's activities (except at the broadest level) or a sense for how UNICEF's funding breaks down by program/region.

Sources

  • 1Chronicle of Philanthropy, “A Roundup of Haiti Fund Raising as of January 29”
  • 2Chronicle of Philanthropy, “Haiti Donations Exceed $644-Million, as of February 3”
  • 3Chronicle of Philanthropy, “American Charities Raise $774-Million for Haiti Relief, Chronicle Tally Finds”
  • 4Chronicle of Philanthropy, “$1.1-Billion Donated for Haiti Relief: Updated Tally (May 11)”
  • 5Chronicle of Philanthropy, “How Charities Are Helping Haiti: How Much They Raised and Spent”
  • 6

    "UNICEF received a total US$ 243,351,321 from
    114 different donor sources, partners and supporters against these two appeals.... Figures reported are on an
    interim basis as of 25 June 2010." UNICEF, “Haiti: 6-Month Report,” Pg 28.

  • 7Chronicle of Philanthropy, "Haiti Earthquake Fund raising, One Year Later."
  • 8

    Chronicle of Philanthropy, “How Charities Are Helping Haiti: How Much They Raised and Spent”

  • 9

    Total expenditures in millions US$: "70.49 ... Amounts reported on are on an interim basis as of 25 June 2010."
    UNICEF, “Haiti: 6-Month Report,” Pg 29.

  • 10

    "Amount spent: $112,000,000 of the worldwide total as of 11/29/2010." Chronicle of Philanthropy, “Haiti Earthquake Fund Raising, One Year Latert”

  • 11

    UNICEF, “Haiti 6-Month Report,” Pg 29.

  • 12

    Example (similar figures are given for Child Protection, Education, Nutrition, and Health, but not for Coordination and Cross-sectoral):

  • 13

    Examples:

    • "Today, some 333,000 people are being provided with at least five litres of safe water a day through UNICEF and partners' water supply operation, which represents 25 per cent of the overall delivery effort reaching 1.2 million people." UNICEF, “6-Month Report,” Pg 7.
    • “UNICEF and implementing partners have also accelerated latrine construction, installing over 9,000 latrines to date out of the total 11,000 installed by the WASH Cluster... At the same time UNICEF has supported training on promotion of key hygiene practices, such as hand washing with soap, for some 2,200 hygiene promoters and community mobilisers.. Some 213,240 persons have also benefited from UNICEF's distribution of personal hygiene kits—which provide for the basics including soap, sanitary towels, toothpaste and toothbrushes, detergent, and toilet paper, among others... Some 20,500 children are currently benefiting from UNICEF's support in 18 schools, and plans are underway to reach 30 schools by August, and a total 600 others by the end of the year, with a simultaneous focus on child-friendly spaces.” UNICEF, “6-Month Report,” Pg 7-8.
    • "Cluster partners have more than doubled the number of children registered—from 767 in April to 2,047, of which 337 have been reunited with their families, while others have been supported to find appropriate family-based care options, following a careful assessment... More than 62,800 children and youth, of which 37 per cent are girls, are benefiting from 225 child-friendly spaces supported by UNICEF in and outside of Port-au-Prince." UNICEF, “6-Month Report,” Pgs 10-11.
    • “Some 2,300 teachers and 3,000 education personnel have been trained so far and 30,000 more are planned over the rest of the year. Critical in the effort to re-open schools has been UNICEF's distribution of some 1,297 school tents for 225 temporary learning spaces...To encourage enrolment and attendance, some 185,616 school-aged children have been provided with basic educational materials (out of 500,000 learners supported by the Education Cluster)—while 45,520 pre-schoolers received learning and recreational materials through the distribution of Early Childhood Development kits.” UNICEF, “6-Month Report, “ Pg 15.
    • “At the six month mark, more than 550,000 children under five and pregnant and lactating women have benefited from ready-to-eat supplementary foods while over 186,000 children aged 9 months to 7 years also received vitamin A supplementation through ongoing immunisation campaigns.... Some 23,000 mothers and babies are also being helped through a network of 107 “baby-friendly tents” that provide counseling on proper infant and young child feeding (IYCF), such as exclusive maternal breastfeeding in the first six months... Sprawling camps with shifting populations made for a complex operation but efforts have now accelerated and over 228,000 children in 727 camps have been immunised and have also received vitamin A supplementation and de-worming. In May the Vaccination Week for the Americas reached a further 47,600 children under five in the border areas and another campaign is being launched in July to increase coverage nationwide. Health needs for some 1,770,000 people are also being covered through the distribution of 177 emergency kits that contain essential drugs to combat major killers of children such as diarrhoea and pneumonia. One single kit can also help treat malaria in 1,000 children, and UNICEF has started efforts for the distribution of 400,000 long-lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets (LLINs) to 200,000 households for malaria prevention. UNICEF, “6-Month Report,” Pgs 18, 21.
    • ”To date, UNICEF has provided almost 1 million tablets, each capable of treating five litres of water, to communities in cholera-affected areas of Haiti. Another 100 million have been ordered.” UNICEF, “A Haitian mother struggles to provide her family with safe water.”
    • "So far, UNICEF has distributed hundreds of School-in-a-Box kits and some 1,400 school tents for temporary classrooms.” UNICEF, “Creating a Haiti fit for children, three months after the earthquake.”

  • 14UNICEF, “What We Do.”
  • 15

    For example, see the following progression (each page is linked from the previous page):

    • UNICEF, "Young child survival and development."
    • UNICEF, "Water, sanitation and hygiene."
    • UNICEF, "Water, sanitation and hygiene."
    • UNICEF, "Water, sanitation and hygiene - UNICEF in Action."
    • UNICEF, "Water, sanitation and hygiene - Hygiene Promotion."

  • 16 UNICEF, “2009 Annual Report.”