Haiti Flashcards
What sort of aid was provided in Haiti?
- bilateral aid
- multilateral
- NGO
How effective was direct aid in funding rubble removal projects in Haiti?
- Direct aid paid for less than 1/5 of the rubble removal projects requested by the government
- but funded four times the number of infrastructure projects.
- rubble needs to be removed before infrastructure is created
What was the “Visas as Aid” program, and why did it fail?
- organised by Protect the People, consultancy firm
- Allowed Haitians to work temporarily in America, earning a monthly income 1,400% higher than in Haiti.
- Too costly to maintain.
What political reasons are behind aid failing in Haiti?
- lack of confidence in government
- continues to this day, resulted in assassination of President in 2021
- lack of support from USA
What are the economic reasons as to why aid did not work in Haiti?
- NGOs define success through tangible assets rather than practical benefits
- means that aid may be sent without creating conditions that allow for it to be useful
- eg. Ambulances sent without funding for equipment and maintenance
- USAid is relatively minimal and declined under Trump as spending shifted elsewhere
What were the social reasons for aid failing in Haiti?
- brain drain: talented workers have enough money to migrate elsewhere
- means results of investment in education are not seen, nor are they passed on
- gangs have made Haiti more unsafe, increased brain drain rate
- UN Peacekeepers introduced disease to Haiti
What are some of the natural disasters that impact Haiti’s infrastructure?
- earthquakes
- mudslides
- cyclones
- tropical storms
What projects did USAid pursue in Haiti?
- $72 million investment into expanding Haiti’s main port
- creation of industrial park in north Haiti, manufacturing cheap clothes
- expect to create 65 000 jobs
How well did USAids projects go?
- appraisals deemed the expansion of the port unviable after work had started and funds and been allocated
- did not yield expected results
- Only a fraction of 65 000 jobs were actually created on the industrial park
- many subsistence farmers were displaced from their lands instead, left without income stream
Who has the government hired to study what Haiti needs to do?
- CCC, Copenhagen Consensus Centre
What does the CCC recommend Haiti do to improve health?
- Fortify wheat flour with iron and folic acid
- most cost effective
- projected to prevent 150 infant deaths and 250,000 cases of anaemia per year
How did the 2010 earthquake affect Haiti’s governance?
- killed many civil servants
- destroyed records
- reduced ability to make decisions
How much did the Red Cross raise for Haiti?
- $488m
- 40% was spent on overhead costs and 25% on internal expenses
- was not well managed and only constructed 6 homes in 5 years
How was military intervention done in Haiti?
- only in initial stage
- US provided 17 000 US military personnel after earthquake
What was the impact of the 2010 Haiti earthquake?
- 7.3 magnitude
- 316 000 dead
- 300 000 injuries
- 300 000 buildings destroyed
- 1.5m displaced
- cholera outbreak in aftermath
