Two years after the Haiti earthquake, the American Red Cross is helping people rebuild their homes and their lives and improving communities with health, water and sanitation projects.

In a two-year update, the American Red Cross highlighted its emergency work after a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, as well as its recovery efforts over the past year.

“People in the tri-counties and across the country responded to help Haiti, and their donations are making a difference with recovery and rebuilding,” said Jim McGee, CEO of American Red Cross Central Coast Region.

“The money provided lifesaving relief to millions of Haitians after the earthquake and is now being used for longer-term housing, health, safe water and other recovery programs.”

The two-year report on Red Cross relief and recovery efforts in Haiti can be found at www.redcross.org/haiti.

Despite many challenges—such as the ongoing cholera outbreak—the Red Cross has made signifi- cant progress in Haiti. The pace of home construction has increased rapidly, with the American Red Cross and the rest of the global Red Cross network providing housing to more than 100,000 people as of December 2011.

Other highlights of the past year:

•providing clean water and sanitation services to more than 369,000 people

•providing health services and hygiene education to more than 2.4 million people

•reaching more than 3 million people with cholera treatment and prevention

•teaching more than 436,000 people how to better prepare for disasters

•providing livelihood assistance through grants, jobs and other help to 114,000 people

The American Red Cross received about $486 million in donations after the earthquake and has spent and signed agreements to spent $330 million on Haiti earthquake relief and recovery efforts in the first two years. The largest portion of spending has gone to food and emergency services.

In the coming year, the American Red Cross will focus on programs to renew communities, including constructing and repairing homes, providing clean water and sanitation, health education, livelihood support and disaster-preparedness programming.

The American Red Cross also will continue to support hospitals and clinics that provide access to needed medical treatment in Haiti and will maintain its efforts to combat cholera and teach people how to prevent diseases.