Foreign aid to Haiti

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of Haiti
Constitution Constitutional Court Law
Legislature Haitian Parliament Chamber of Deputies President of the Chamber Cholzer Chancy Senate President of the Senate Youri Latortue
Executive President of Haiti (list) Jovenel Moïse (PHTK) Prime Minister of Haiti (list) Jack Guy Lafontant (MDH–RDH) Cabinet
Judiciary Supreme Court of Haiti
Recent elections General: 2006 2010–11 Presidential: 2015 2016 (Feb) 2016 (Nov) Parliamentary: 2015–16 Senate: 2016–17 Electoral body: CEP
Administrative divisions Departments Arrondissements Communes Communal sections
Foreign relations

Canadian aids to Haiti

• Further information: Canada-Haiti relations

UN aids to Haiti

The USA is the largest foreign source of relief aid to Haiti from the 2010 Haiti earthquake, although in December 2011, the Haitian President Michel Martelly said that "The cooperation with Venezuela is the most important in Haiti right now in terms of impact, direct impact.".^[1] USA, through USAID is giving more than $712 million in aid. However, this amount also comprises donations of many non-governmental organizations such as World Vision and the Red Cross accumulated from different parts of the globe through various campaigns in support of Haiti.^[2] In comparison, the EU and the 27 member-states alone are providing over 400 million euro, which is about $650 million.^[3]

Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake Venezuela made substantial contributions to the humanitarian response to the earthquake, pledging $1.3bn in aid in addition to cancelling $395m in PetroCaribe debt.^[1][4][5] Projects included the construction of three power plants, which provided a fifth of Haiti's electricity in December 2011.^[1]

A country by country Excel report can be seen here, where the EU countries are presented separately, and the US contribution is diminished to about 460 million dollars.^[6] (*Represents aid tied to 2010 earthquake relief)

WORLD TOTAL 2,422,202,996

Notes

1.^ Amount unknown

The notes below are conflicting numbers from certain countries and as such may not be accurate are not included in the above table

2.^ Conflicting information from the source, original data states 722,900 or 486,000

3.^ 290,000 11,161,000

4.^ 134,904 50,110,000

U.S. economic and development assistance

Political insecurity and the failure of Haiti's governments to invest in developing the country's natural and human resources contribute significantly to the country's current state of underdevelopment. U.S. efforts to strengthen democracy and to rebuild Haiti's economy aim to rectify this condition. The U.S. has been Haiti's largest donor since 1973. Between the fiscal years of 1995 and 1999, the U.S. contributed roughly $884 million in assistance to Haiti. Although there have been 13 billion aid money to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, many people still live in bad conditions. According to page 35 of the Greening Aid book there are key questions that arise on where the money flows and why.

Among the initiatives United States funds have supported are:

• Food assistance programs that include a school lunch program that feeds around 500,000 children daily
• Agricultural development programs that have endeavored to revitalize Haiti's coffee sector and to help thousands of Haitian farmers adopt sustainable agricultural practices and protect the environment
• Teacher training programs that have included 6,000 educators at the primary and secondary level
• Population programs that have expanded modern family planning practices in many rural areas
• Health care programs that have supported child immunization and have helped provide primary care to nearly half of the Haitian population

Human Resources

In addition to financial support, the U.S. provides human resources. Many private U.S. citizens travel regularly to Haiti or reside there for extended periods to work in humanitarian projects. There is currently no Peace Corps program in Haiti, and Peace Corps volunteers living in the neighboring Dominican Republic are prohibited from crossing the border.

Economic development

Haiti has been plagued for decades by extremely high unemployment and underemployment. The precipitous decline in urban assembly sector jobs, from a high of 80,000 in 1986 to fewer than 17,000 in 1994, exacerbated the scarcity of jobs. To revitalize the economy, U.S. assistance has attempted to create opportunities for stable, sustainable employment for the growing population, particularly those who comprise the country's vast informal economy. A post-intervention transitional program of short-term job creation, principally in small towns and rural areas, provided employment to as many as 50,000 workers per day throughout the country. More recently, programs that help to increase commercial bank lending to small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs, especially in the agricultural sector, have helped to create jobs and foster economic growth.

Additional U.S. efforts in economic revitalization include the establishment of the U.S.-Haiti Business Development Council, an Overseas Private Investment Corporation commercial loan program, and inclusion of Haiti within the Caribbean Basin Initiative. These efforts provide greater market opportunities for American and Haitian businesses. Current Congressional prohibitions on providing assistance to or through the Haitian government has accelerated the move to private voluntary agencies as contractors to oversee the use of U.S. aid funds.

Throughout the 2001–2004 time period the United States Chamber of Commerce backed a government aid embargo upon Haiti's elected Aristide government. This led to economic decline. Haiti's government budget was approximately 30-40 percent dependent on the cut-off aid.

Cuban Aid to Haiti

Cuba has sent hundreds of doctors to Haiti over the years. These doctors, already in Haiti, were among the first responders to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Cuba also participates in joint aid projects with Venezuela.

Cuba has thanked Haiti for consistently voting in the United Nations General Assembly against the embargo put upon Cuba, and on Cuba's current and potential trading partners, by the United States.

Venezuelan Aid to Haiti

Haiti has benefited from a solid economic partnership with Venezuela. This recently forged friendship between Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and Haitian president René Préval has resulted in various economic agreements. After a visit by Chavez in March 2007, Venezuela and Cuba announced a $1 Billion fund to develop energy, health, and infrastructure in Haiti. As part of this deal, 4 power plants will be constructed in Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haïtien, and Gonaïves, increasing the country's power production by 160 MW by the end of 2007. An oil refinery will also be constructed in Haiti, with a production capacity of 10,000 barrels (1,600 m³) of oil per day. In the meantime, Venezuela has increased the amount of petroleum it provides Haiti to 14,000 barrels per day (2,200 m³/d), at the same terms afforded to ALBA member countries - these terms are more favorable than the Petrocaribe terms.

Venezuela's assistance to Haiti is founded upon a historic act where the newly independent Haiti welcomed and tended to first Francisco de Miranda, then to Simón Bolívar and provided both with military assistance in the liberation of much of South America.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.