OPINION:Aid bodies are calling on the international community to honour its promises to Haiti, writes BRID KENNEDY
TWO YEARS ago this week, a massive earthquake struck Haiti, bringing death and destruction on an unimaginable scale. Many hundreds of thousands of Haitians lost their lives or suffered terrible injuries on January 12th, 2010.
Those who survived faced an uncertain future without homes, livelihoods, protection or the basic services needed to survive. Yet two years ago this week, the world stood with Haiti to help.
Individuals and governments from hundreds of nations around the world responded with donations and promises of aid. Nearly half of all households in the US contributed to the response in the days and weeks following the earthquake. Many lives were saved, and much suffering was alleviated because donors, international NGOs, universities, towns, churches and millions of individuals took action to help.
As we reach the second anniversary of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, we once again call on governments and individuals to continue to stand with the Haitian people.
The Haiti NGO Coordinating Committee, represents many of the international NGOs that, in collaboration with their Haitian partner organisations, responded in the days and months following the earthquake, relieving suffering, providing food and life- saving water and sanitation, offering safe shelter, and protecting hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children and adults.
The Haiti NGO Coordinating Committee recognises the opportunity for Haiti to “build back better” and change the status quo of relying upon outsiders for the provision of basic services to the Haitian people. We urge the government of Haiti to take a strong leadership role in health, education, shelter, employment and economic growth, and we stand ready to work with our government counterparts to transfer skills, resources and capacity, and to reduce reliance on external actors.
However, we must also recognise the reality in Haiti. Today, approximately 500,000 people remain in tents in Port-au-Prince, Leogane, Petit Goave and other earthquake-affected areas. Infants, young children, the disabled, and women in camps remain particularly vulnerable to violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect, and lack adequate protection and support.
Access to safe water and sanitation remains a daily struggle for millions around the country. Quality and affordable healthcare and basic education remain elusive for most. The outbreak of cholera across all regions of Haiti has claimed thousands of lives and remains a major threat to public health.
Two years on, we are consistently awestruck at the fortitude and resilience of the Haitian people, and their drive to improve their lives and the lives of their children.
But we are also realistic, and recognise that building institutions and increasing capacity to provide for 10 million Haitian citizens will take time and money. The pressure on NGOs to hand over services to the government – whether the government is ready or not – is growing. Global financial pressures and cuts to foreign aid budgets are also likely to have severe consequences.
As a body of NGOs with a strong commitment to Haiti, we call on the international community to honour its promises to Haiti and to stay the course. We must not allow impatience with the slow pace of progress or donor fatigue about “last year’s crisis” to leave the most vulnerable in Haiti – such as the 500,000 sleeping under tents tonight – to fall through the cracks.
Now is not the time to pull back; we must scaleup, work in concert, and make and keep real long-term commitments. The Haitian government has a vital role to play, and we must work closely together to support it to reach a point where it leads and galvanises the efforts of all development actors to rebuild Haiti. We all have a responsibility to remember and honour the promises we made to our brothers and sisters in Haiti two years ago this week.
Brid Kennedy, regional director, Concern Worldwide, writes on behalf of the Haiti NGO Coordinating Committee, which includes Concern Worldwide, Save the Children, Care, Plan International, Habitat for Humanity, Goal, Oxfam International, World Vision International, International Rescue Committee and other agencies.