Health

Without a doubt, post earthquake Haiti was a complex and difficult humanitarian situation.  However, the response could have been much better.  Below is a blog by Simon Levine which asks why we have not learned from past emergencies and why it is that we may not learn from this one as well.  Immediately after is a special issue of Humanitarian Exchange, published by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), which explores the experiences of humanitarian actors involved in the earthquake response.  

The Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP) has recently launched a Haiti Portal.  The portal will include evaluations of the Haiti response and other online resources.  In addition, it will provide participants an opportunity to discuss what is going well and what needs to be improved.  Haiti is still teetering between emergency response and reconstruction.  There are many issues that require further attention and action, first so we can improve efforts underway in Haiti and second to do a better job the next time a major urban disaster occurs.  Below is a summary of just a few of these issues. 

The 2010 Haiti Donors’ Conference concluded yesterday.  The last such conference was held almost a year ago under very different circumstances.  This was very much an international event with Brazil, Canada, the European Union, France, and Spain actively engaged.  Over 130 nations, NGOs, and other organizations participated.  Fifty nine pledged 9 billion, of which 5 billion will be for 2010 and 2011 – provided that these pledges actually become contributions which is not always the case.  As Phillipe Matieu of Oxfam puts it, “…pledges need to turn into concrete progress on the ground.  This cannot be a VIP Pageant of half promises.”   Below is a summary of what we know about the way ahead as of April 1st.

The northwest is the poorest part of Haiti, long neglected by the Haitian government and the international community. Most Haitians have neve been here and comparatively little has been written about the region.  I recently was able to visit both Port de Paix and the Ile de Tortue, a nearby island that was once a hotbed of piracy. Below is a summary of the area's past, present, and also its potential.

Immediately after the earthquake, the main source of information was Twitter, which I have a new respect for.  Journalists and aid workers are arriving in Haiti and we are gaining a better sense of just how extensive the damage to Port au Prince is.  We also know that Jacmel was seriously affected as well.  Aid from the United States, other governments, and humanitarian responders both big and small is picking up.  This is a summary of the current situation, who is doing what where, and how you can help.  Additional updates will be posted as comments.

The Center for American Progress recently released an interesting and cautiously optimistic report (attached) on security in Haiti.  For Haiti watchers, the background will no doubt be familiar but there is still much of interest.  Below is an analysis of the  recommendations.  The historical and political cards have long been stacked against Haiti but there is now more evidence and more reasons to expect security will hold and improve. With a lot of work, a bit of luck, and the support of its friends, Haiti will continue to make progress….piti piti.  

The second annual International Congress of the Haitian Diaspora will take place August 6-9, 2009 at Trump International Beach Resorts in Miami Beach, Florida.  The purpose of the event is to capitalize on the resources that the Diaspora can bring to help build Haiti’s economy.  The agenda includes a variety of issues such as boosting tourism, stimulating agricultural production, restoring forests and ecology, managing water supplies, preparing for disasters, achieving literacy, and job creation.  A schedule of events is copied below.  If you would like to participate, you can register here. Contact information is listed below if you want to volunteer.

Copied below is a strategy paper that Prime Minister Pierre Louis recently released on how the Haitian government intends to meet its short term goals.  I was pleased to see the attention devoted to agriculture, the private sector, and infrastructure development.  Unfortunately, the Haitian government has yet to receive one gourde from the Haiti Donors' Conference.  Hopefully, Special Envoy Clinton has not lost his touch and will be able to encourage Friends of Haiti to honor their pledges.  The paper is brief but balanced and well thought out.  Please feel free to post your thoughts about it in the comments section. 

JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. is a health research/consulting firm dedicated to improving the health of individuals and communities worldwide.  JSI visited Haiti in January 2009 to identify gaps in the availability and accessibility of reproductive health (RH) services and to assess community responses for strengthening quality, accessibility and availability.  Reproductive health is a social issue, a public health issue, a human rights issue, a security issue, and one that is important for countries that are fragile, stable, or in Haiti's case, teetering in between.  The report is attached and deserves to be widely read.

According to Jonathan Katz, public health workers plan to vaccinate some 1 million women and children this week around Haiti's capital after delays exacerbated by food riots and hurricanes.  The effort marks the second phase of an international goal to immunize 5.6 million Haitian children - more than half the country's population - against diseases like polio, measles and rubella.