A woman digs with a machete as she builds a temporary home in a spontaneous camp for quake survivors being established in Croix-des-Bouguets, Haiti, north of the capital Port-au-Prince. Quake survivors continue to move as aftershocks continue, and reports of aid deliveries in one camp will provoke families from other camps to migrate there.
A woman digs with a machete as she builds a temporary home in a spontaneous camp for quake survivors being established in Croix-des-Bouguets, Haiti, north of the capital Port-au-Prince. Photo Credit: Paul Jeffrey

In the wake of the devastating January 2010 earthquake, the United States government pledged a total of U.S. $4 billion to Haiti for humanitarian relief assistance, reconstruction and development aid. Since its allocation, much of this aid has failed to reach the populations that need it the most. According to the Government Accountability Office, nearly 50% of allocated foreign aid remains unspent, and of the funds deployed, less than 1% of aid went directly to the Haitian government. Meanwhile, the U.S. government prioritized foreign contractors (60% of which were Washington DC-area firms) while less than 1.5% of contracts went to Haitian companies.

Since 2010, the HAWG has advocated for rigorous accountability and transparency in U.S. foreign aid to Haiti, as well as participatory mechanisms that measure the effectiveness of aid among vulnerable populations.   Following three years of Hill-focused advocacy in summer 2014, our coalition facilitated a major victory when the United States Congress passed the Assessing Progress in Haiti Act (APHA), a bill that increases oversight of USAID’s operations in Haiti. Since the passage of this legislation, the HAWG has worked with Congress and the Administration to ensure that APHA is thoroughly implemented.

The HAWG believes that consultation and coordination with domestic Haitian organizations and the Government of Haiti is critical to successful development, and advocates for systematic documentation of aid disbursement to ensure aid accountability and efficacy.

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Aid Accountability and Transparency, Food Sovereignty

Massachusetts Congressional Delegation Says: Prevent the Peanut Dump!

Last Friday, the Congressional representatives from Massachusetts in both House and Senate, sent a letter to Secretary Kerry asking the State Department to intervene before surplus peanuts from the U.S. are sent to Haiti. Reinforcing a letter from Massachusetts State Senator, Linda Dorcena Forry, they expressed concern about the planned shipment and asked for a response from the Secretary. Read More

Aid Accountability and Transparency, Food Sovereignty

Plus de 60 Organisations Haïtiennes et Américaines Réclament la Suppression d’un Don de Cacahouètes de l’USDA

POUR DISTRIBUTION IMMEDIATE

02/05/2016

POUR DE PLUS AMPLES RENSEIGNEMENTS, VEUILLEZ COMMUNIQUER AVEC

Claire Gilbert, (617) 524-1400 (Grassroots International)

Ricot Jean Pierre +(509) 3166-2020 (Plateforme Haïtienne de Plaidoyer pour un Développement Alternatif)

Plus de 60 organisations haïtiennes et américaines réclament la suppression d’un don de cacahouètes de l’USDA

Plus de 60 organisations en Haïti et aux Etats-Unis ont signé une lettre commune exigeant l’annulation d’un don de 500 tonnes métriques de cacahouètes à l’Haïti planifié par département de l’Agriculture des États-Unis (l’USDA). Read More

Aid Accountability and Transparency, Food Sovereignty

Haitian & U.S. Organizations Demand USDA Peanut Plan Be Cancelled

PRESS RELEASE: May 2, 2016

CONTACT: Claire Gilbert, Grassroots International, (617) 524-1400

More than 60 Haitian and US Organizations Demand USDA Peanut Plan Be Cancelled

Over 60 US and Haitian organizations have joined a letter calling for an immediate cancellation of recent plans announced by the United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, to ship 500 metric tons of peanuts to Haiti under its “Stocks for Food” program.  Read More

Aid Accountability and Transparency, Report

New Tools for Assessing Progress in Haiti Reconstruction and Development

Last July, in a stirring and rare demonstration of bipartisanship, the U.S. House and the Senate passed a bill dedicated to increasing transparency and accountability around the billions of dollars of U.S. government funds allocated to assistance to Haiti since the January 2010 earthquake.  On August 8, President Obama signed the Assessing Progress in Haiti Act and the clock began ticking down for the State Department to produce the first of several comprehensive reports detailing the government’s assistance efforts, as mandated by the new law. Read More

Aid Accountability and Transparency

Haiti by the Numbers, Five Years Later

Number of people killed in the earthquake in 2010: over 217,300

Minimum number of Haitians killed by the U.N.–caused cholera epidemic: 8,774

Number of years it took after the introduction of cholera for the international community to hold a donor conference to raise funds for the cholera response: 4

Amount pledged for cholera eradication: $50 million

Amount needed: $2.2 billion

Read more: http://cepr.net/blogs/haiti-relief-and-reconstruction-watch/haiti-by-the-numbers-five-years-later?highlight=WyJoYWl0aSIsImhhaXRpJ3MiLCInaGFpdGkiXQ== Read More

Aid Accountability and Transparency

US Congress Passes Aid Accountability Legislation as Local Procurement Falls in Haiti

More than four-and-a-half years after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the U.S. Congress passed legislation on Friday demanding greater accountability and transparency in U.S. relief and reconstruction efforts. “[W]e need to provide more accountability of our efforts to rebuild Haiti as we work to produce sustainable local capacity and strengthen democratic institutions,” said Rep. Read More

Aid Accountability and Transparency

Why Assessing Progress in Haiti Act is Important

One of the better tools to achieve accountability and transparency, the Assessing Progress in Haiti Act will, among other requirements:

  • Examine carefully how obligated funds have been used by USAID and its implementing partners at both the prime and subprime levels;
  • Detail existing goals and quantitative and qualitative indicators that USAID is applying at the program level;
  • Assess how the Department of State and USAID are working with Haitian authorities and consulting Haitian grassroots organizations in the design and implementation of aid programs;
  • Assess efforts to include the Haitian private sector in recovery and development programs;
  • Assess whether vulnerable populations, including Internally Displaced Populations, women, children, orphans and persons with disabilities have been taken into account in the design and implementation of new programs;
  • Assess how USAID programs are impacting the livelihoods of smallholder farmers who are crucial to Haiti’s economy;
  • Examine the U.S.
Read More
Aid Accountability and Transparency

Leaders Call On Senators Menendez and Corker to Support Haiti

The following is a June 12, 2014, open letter from organizational leaders calling on Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator Robert Menendez and Ranking Member Senator Bob Corker to support swift passage of the Assessing Progress in Haiti Act.

Dear Chairman Menendez and Ranking Member Corker,

We, the undersigned heads of development, faith-based, human rights and social justice organizations, remain steadfast in our commitment to see a just recovery in Haiti after the deadly 2010 earthquake. Read More

Aid Accountability and Transparency, Gender & Human Rights, Report

Caracol Industrial Parks: Social and Gender Impacts of Year One of Haiti’s Newest IFI-funded Industrial Park

Officially open for business since October 2012, Caracol Industrial Park (PIC) is expected to become Haiti’s largest private employer and foreign investor. US$ 424 million in development aid from donors including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the United States government have been committed to the Park and ten PIC support projects. Read More