Haiti is still reeling from a devastating earthquake, but its leaders don’t want the humanitarian relief operation to detract from the country’s long-term development objectives and the Commission has offered its support, according to top officials.
The earthquake, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, killed an estimated 200,000 people and left the capital in ruins (see map below). Counting the cost of the damage, both emotional and physical, is an enormous task, according to Mikael Barfod who recently returned from a post disaster needs assessment mission to Haiti.
“The one thing that makes an impression more than anything else is perhaps the children,” said Mr Barfod, who is EuropeAid’s Head of Unit for geographical coordination of development assistance in the Caribbean, West and Central Africa. “They can’t go to school and they’re roaming around - in many cases they have lost relatives – it’s like they have lost their bearings on life.” To watch a video interview with Mr Barfod, click on the icon.
“There are temporary shelters everywhere,” said Mr Barfod, “in parks, in any green area – even on corners where there is a bit of space.” Whole families huddle under whatever scraps they might have found to offer them some sort of protection from the elements. “The sanitary conditions are very often appalling,” he added.
Humanitarian funds are pouring into the flattened Caribbean nation after one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in memory. While aid is crucial, the European Union has also prioritised non-humanitarian assistance, in line with requests made by the government of Haiti.
"The Government of Haiti doesn't seem to simply want to stop long-term development programmes and reorient everything to emergency reconstruction," Gary Quince, EuropeAid's Director for African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries, explained. To watch a video interview with Mr Quince, click on the icon.
The European Union is keen to support Haiti in this endeavour and is working with the government to rebuild their capacity as quickly as possible.
"The Government of Haiti wants to be at the centre and not out on the edge of the decision making. It doesn't want to loose sight of its own long-term development programmes", Mr Quince explained. "It is not easy, but we're trying to react as fast as we can while keeping this long-term vision in focus."
Within hours of the disaster the EU countries activated its civil protection mechanism, enabling the European Commission to coordinate the assistance that each is providing.
Today, more than one month on from the devastating quake, the EU's overall response to Haiti has reached €609 million of which €309 million is humanitarian aid (€120m sourced through the Commission and €189m through Member States).
But almost half of the EU’s response is devoted to capacity development and medium and long-term projects.
Some €100 million is earmarked for government capacity building – essential in Haiti where the severity and timing of the quake left the government severely weakened.
"I don't think there has ever been a case where the government machine has been virtually decapitated," said Mr Quince. Nearly all Haiti’s ministerial buildings collapsed, killing many senior staff and personnel. “The government of Haiti lost their capacity in an instant."
Deciding how that €100 million will be spent was one of the tasks of the post disaster needs assessment team, the first ever to which the Commission has provided experts, and their findings will pave the way to Haiti’s recovery.
Going forward, the Commission estimates it will contribute at least €200 million to long-term projects and development. The money, which will come from the 9th and 10th European Development Funds, is in addition to individual contributions from EU Member States' budgets.
The Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) in Haiti, assisted by the EC, World Bank and the United Nations, will provide the government with essential information ahead of a special donor conference in New York on 31st March to secure further recovery funding and help donor coordination.
“The government [of Haiti] is fully involved in the PDNA,” said Mr Barfod. “They are helping to plan it and guide and steer it and they will certainly take a very strong interest in the conclusions that will be reviewed by the government and… a final consolidated report will be presented to all donors before the conference.”
“The government is very interested in presenting its own vision to the conference….. and we want to give them all the room they need to do that,” said Mr Barfod.
“The government of Haiti really deserves the very best assessment so that it becomes credible with the donors,” added Mr Barfod. “This credibility is what is going to bring in the funding for the future and the total reconstruction of Haiti.”
A power point presentation of post-quake images has been attached to this article for you to download and view.
To read a previous capacity4dev.eu story on Haiti, click here.
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