Following the devastating earthquake on January 12, Brazil identified five priority areas in which its military personnel in Haiti would assist with the humanitarian efforts: burial of the dead, medical assistance for the injured, removal of debris, security provision, and distribution of food and water. Additional personnel and equipment, including a Brazilian air force field hospital, were flown out from Rio de Janeiro on 14 January.

The Brazilian army leads the military component of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti. The number of Brazilians currently believed to have died in the earthquake is seventeen, including fourteen soldiers. The three civilian dead include Zilda Arns, a Brazilian doctor and aid worker who founded the well-known children's charity Pastoral da Criança (Children's Pastoral).

Source: Embassy of Brazil in London