Haiti at Nine Months

The initial outpouring of aid after the January 12 earthquake that ripped apart the poverty stricken nation of Haiti carried with it the promise that life would get better. The destruction alone meant that rebuilding would provide the people of Haiti with newer homes, better utilities and roads and more opportunity than they had before the quake.

The United States military, in one of the largest humanitarian operations in its history, stepped forward as it always has. At its peak, over 22,000 American military personnel, 23 Navy ships, 10 Coast Guard vessels, 264 fixed wing aircraft and 57 helicopters were providing assistance. They distributed 2.6 million liters of pure water, 2.7 million Meals-Ready-to-Eat, 17 million pounds of bulk food, delivered by air over 36 million pounds of relief supplies and evacuated 16,412 American citizens.

The military provided medical care to 9,758 patients, performed 1,025 surgeries and medically evacuated 343 patients. 149,045 pounds of medical supplies were delivered.

Combat engineers and other U.S. military removed 12,724 cubic yards of rubble from streets. Between January 13 and March 16, U.S. personnel either operated or assisted in the operation of the Port-au-Prince international airport. Navy and Coast Guard personnel reopened the port on January 22 and assisted in offloading over 8,500 containers.

Throughout April and May, the United States military drew down its personnel as the government of Haiti and the international community assumed the tasks performed by the troops. The one third of Haiti leveled by the earthquake was now the responsibility of the Haitians, the United Nations and various international partners.

As of August 31, 1.2 million Haitians were living in various refugee settlements. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is in charge of operating the 1,300 refugee settlements. On October 6, Refugees International released a scathing report on the failures of this agency to date.

The IOM has 700 staff in Haiti, and only three junior staff devoted to security and protection efforts in the various camps. Less than 30% of the camps have managers assigned. Some camps have fallen into the hands of criminal gangs and neither the Haitian police nor the U.N. police can be relied upon to patrol most camps to address widespread acts of violence.

Most of the meetings of the various groups assigned to address problems are being held at the U.N. Compound at the airport, a significant distance for community leaders to travel with no transportation and poor roads. The RI also notes that most meetings are in English, further restricting the participation of the Haitian community in their own recovery.

The Pan American Health Organization, in its October 4 report, states that non-governmental agencies have taken over the operation of hospitals in Jacmel and Leogane. PAHO reports:

Jacmel - "Since May, St. Michel Hospital has been repaired by MSF Spain with the construction of two semi-permanent buildings that house the pediatric and internal medicine units. MSF has also been providing pediatric care, internal medicine, emergency department services and surgery. Save the Children is maintaining an outpatient ward and International Medical Corp is providing psychiatric services. Rehabilitation services are running under tents and sections of the building that were damaged beyond repair have been demolished by MINUSTAH to accelerate rebuilding."

Leogane - "The earthquake damaged all health structures in Leogane, including Hospital St. Croix, Hospital Materno-Infatil, and Hospital Cardinal Leger. Although the number of NGOs active in this area is decreasing, major institutions like MSF-Switzerland, Save the Children, Merlin, and The Johanniter remain active. MSF-Switzerland is running the only functional hospital in Leogane."

The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission is the arm of the Haitian government through which all projects must be approved. It recently approved 18 projects funded at $777 million. None of these addressed housing. Over half of the sum was devoted to educational construction. $10 million was approved for a program to address gender based violence in Haiti.

In its previous board meeting the IHRC approved $1.6 billion in projects. None involve the refugee camps or rebuilding housing. Among the projects approved is one for $200 million to "Increase farm income in targeted areas and reduce expected losses in infrastructure by improving agricultural value chains, agriculture intensification, technology adoption among small farmers, and land tenure regularization". Another, in the amount of $17 million, is to "Remove 234,000 m3 of debris in at least 6 districts in Port-au-Prince. Remove and process debris and reduce the risks associated with uncontrolled debris. Establish a debris recycling system ".

The current government of Haiti and its international partners seem to value "agricultural value chains" and "debris recycling". The poor Haitians living in refugee camps without management or security seem to be much further down the list of priorities.