Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, USAID/OFDA took a community-based approach to recovery, working with partners and residents to provide two-story transitional shelters in the Ravine Pintade neighborhood of Port-au-Prince.

Chuck Setchell, USAID/OFDA

USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) remains at the forefront of the humanitarian community’s shelter and settlements (S&S) activities, which focus on a common goal: the expeditious and appropriate provision of covered living space to adequately shelter displaced populations, while also promoting safer, healthier settlements that link emergency S&S assistance to longer-term recovery efforts.

FY 2019 USAID/OFDA S&S support included funding for global case studies on shelter response in emergencies and Information, Education, and Communication campaigns designed to strengthen information sharing during emergencies, among other activities.

Learn the basics of shelter and settlements in humanitarian response through the following online trainings:  

• ​InterAction
• DisasterReady.com (A certificate of completion is available)
• YouTube​

Shelter and Settlements Resources

• Sector Updates
• Common Comments on S&S and NFI FY2017 Proposals
• Training Video on Installation of USAID/OFDA Plastic Sheeting (various languages)
• Shelter and Settlements Training Course Handouts
• USAID/OFDA Humanitarian Shelter and Settlements Principles
• USAID/OFDA Humanitarian Shelters and Settlements Activities
• Key Findings from USAID/OFDA Wind Tunnel Testing
• Shelter and Component Testing (Final)
• Shelter and Component Testing (Supplementary Test)
• The “Neighborhood Approach,” a Means of Improving the Delivery of Humanitarian Assistance in Urban Areas