The UK Government has increased its aid to earthquake ravaged Haiti in the light of recent assessments on the ground, which highlight the scale of the disaster.

The Department for International Development (DFID) announced at a meeting of European Union development ministers in Brussels yesterday that it would boost funding to Haiti. A press release from the British High Commission quoted International Develop-ment Secretary Douglas Alexander as saying the total sum would rise from $10 million to £20 million (over $30 million).

The additional funds of around $20 million are expected to aid in further relief and recovery work, including food, shelter, basic sanitation and health services.  The UK assessment team is on the ground and working with the UN, US and others to determine priorities for these funds.

“It is now clear that the international community is dealing with an almost unprecedented level of devastation,” the release quoted Alexander saying. He said also that the UK’s initial assessments show a level of humanitarian need which would severely test the international response in any circumstances.

But that the impact of this earthquake is magnified because it has hit a country that “was already desperately poor and historically volatile”.

Alexander also praised the generosity of the British public in responding to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal by donating £15 million. “The British people have once again shown their compassion and generosity by giving this enormous support to the Disasters Emergency Committee. I would encourage people to keep on giving what they can,” he added.

DFID had previously funded multiple efforts in Haiti, which included, £1 million for the Haitian Red Cross to provide food, shelter, clean water and other immediate needs for 20,000 families; £2 million for the World Food Programme for transport, communications and base camps to help with the logistics of getting relief where it’s needed; £300,000 for the World Health Organisation for disease surveillance, to help prevent the spread of epidemics such as malaria and dengue fever and £1 milion to help the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs bring in more than 30 extra staff to help bolster humanitarian coordination.

Further, the release said, additional DFID funding has been used to transport and deploy the UK search and rescue team and the humanitarian assessment team. DFID has dispatched a team of 64 search and rescue experts from fire services around the UK following the earthquake many of whom are now on the ground, helping and coordinating a response linked with international efforts.