This is from an update they emailed out today:

We received a report from Cate Oswald, one of our staff in Haiti, who traveled through the Central Plateau to Port-au-Prince yesterday with two truckloads of meds and supplies. She described the scene:

“We started seeing destruction from Mt. Cabrit (where big rocks lie in the middle of the road) through Croix de Bouquets where it doesn’t seem as bad but lots of walls down. Then the scene gets much, much worse. Tonight, everywhere throughout the city, as we drove by the national plaza, there are thousands of people sleeping outside. While I was in Port-au-Prince, there were still aftershocks being felt. I didn’t venture into other parts of the city, but as you all know, koze sa pa jwet menm [Haitian saying literally translated as "this is not a game"].”

The trucks met up with PIH staff, including Dr. Louise Ivers, at the UN’s logistics base in Port-au-Prince. Louise was one of two doctors attending at the time, and they had nothing but aspirin until our trucks showed up.

Nothing but aspirin, even at the UN’s logistics base—unbelievable. The logistical difficulty of quickly getting large amounts of supplies (as well as staff and volunteers) into a disaster area is one major reason I think PIH is a very good place to direct one’s aid. Some groups that don’t have as many people and supplies on the ground in Haiti already, no matter how efficient and competent they are, may have more trouble reaching the thousands of people who are still suffering from untreated wounds. I heard that the Port-au-Prince airport is damaged and is unable to accommodate the number of planes which are trying to land there. The seaport was reportedly so badly damaged that ships are unable to dock or unload supplies. Many people from other countries are only able to reach Port-au-Prince by flying into the Dominican Republic and driving over the border from there.

In case you’re interested, PIH has set up a new website about this disaster which includes some updates about what they are seeing (and doing) in Port-au-Prince and their facilities outside the city.

Thank you David for helping to publicize their work. As a compulsive listener to the radio we are pretty up to date, but not everyone is. I had been trying to decide where our contribution could do the most good, and you have provided the answer.