Aid for Haiti

The international community had hoped to raise $3.9 billion (2.9 billion euros) at the United Nations donor conference for earthquake-ravaged Haiti. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the pledges of $5.9 billion over the next two years with long-term commitment of $7.4 billion "far exceeded expectations."

The pledges, which come from more than 100 nations, were widely praised by the development community after the January 12 earthquake killed at least 222,000 people and left another round 1.3 million homeless.

"Almost every country exceeded its financial obligations to help Haiti. Soon these pledges will need to turn into concrete progress on the ground," said Philippe Mathieu, spokesperson of Oxfam International.

Private organizations also announced contributions to Haiti at the conference, including a $300 million pledge from the International Federation of the Red Cross.

"We are all aware of the immense challenges that lie before, because the earthquake affected virtually every segment of Haitian society; all are in desperate need of assistance in order to achieve long-term, sustained recovery," Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Chairman of the Board of the American Red Cross, said in New York on Wednesday.

Single European pledge praised

The European Union pledged 1.235 billion euros ($1.6 billion) at the conference. The largest contribution came from Spain, which gave 346 million euros, followed by France with 236 million euros.Germany pledged 39.4 million euros.

Some European countries, including Austria and Britain, gave nothing, although the European Union noted in a fact sheet that private British contributions totalled 100 million euros. The German public also gave 195 million euros.

Simon Maxwell, head of the Overseas Development Institute in London, praised the EU for making the pledge as a union and not as individual donor countries.

"The most important feature is that, unusually and commendably, the EU is acting as one," Maxwell told Deutsche Welle. "This is an important signal and precedent for the way that Europe should approach natural disaster response and long-term development cooperation in the future."

Follow through needed on pledges

While Maxwell praised the international community for its pledge to Haiti, he said it was imperative that the promises made in New York be kept. Often countries make large pledges, but, in the end, actual donations fall short.

For instance, a report by Oxfam in 2005 found that in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch in Central America in 1998, the United States provided only one-third of the nine billion dollars it promised for reconstruction. The same report found that the United States gave only $200 million of the $450 million in aid it promised Afghanistan in 2004.

"Past donor pledges to humanitarian appeals have not always been delivered quickly enough – or ever," the Oxfam report said.

Oxfam also noted that donors took aid from existing projects to fund new ones. According to the report, the United States, Britain, Norway and the EU, among others, were guilty of this practice.

Dilemma about allocation of funds

Before the earthquake, the Haitian government was already largely viewed by the international community as ineffective. After the disaster, with infrastructure destroyed, the government could do little to assist the Haitian people except to plead for outside assistance.

Maxwell said one of the goals of the relief efforts was the establishment of an infrastructure in Haiti so that the country would be equipped to respond to future disasters.

Such an undertaking, however, represents a major challenge. In the past, aid given to Haiti has largely been squandered or misappropriated by corrupt politicians.

At the same time, any alternative to giving money directly to the government comes with its own challenges, as it frees the government from taking responsibility in its own recovery.

Accordingly, Haiti must take ownership of its reconstruction efforts and make use of aid responsibly.

"The core principal that underpins everything that must be done in Haiti is that the Haitian people and the Haitian government must lead reconstruction efforts," Maxwell said.

"In turn, all donors need to recognize the important of Haitian leadership. The donors need to work together to improve and strengthen the capabilities of the Haitian government," he added.

Author: David Francis
Editor: Michael Knigge