Efforts in Haiti now turn to the wrenching task of clearing wreckage (with untold numbers still trapped in rubble) and housing hundreds of thousands before the rain and hurricane seasons start. Still reeling, Haiti must quickly turn to reconstruction and recovery, while balancing ongoing relief for the 2 million people affected.
On Monday, Haiti’s top leaders gathered with international donors in Montreal to assert their central role in the reconstruction agenda. Foreign ministers from 14 countries largely agreed that we are looking at a decade, at minimum, of concerted investment in Haiti. The outcomes of the meeting outlined the obvious: Haiti will need deep and broad long-term assistance. A more involved donors conference will convene down the road where actual dollars will be pledged following an independent needs assessment.
While the beleaguered Haitian government presented an initial $3 billion plan to salvage Port-au-Prince (housing the homeless and rebuilding infrastructure), others have begun to press for unprecedented levels of aid and coordination.
On Project Syndicate this week, Jeffrey Sachs recommends focusing on five key sectors for long-term reconstruction and development: smallholder, or peasant, agriculture; reconstruction; port services and light manufacturing; local small-scale trade; and public services, including health care and education. He also pushes for an overarching framework and an unprecedented display of international cooperation led by the Inter-American Development Bank because of its track record in Haiti. His price tag for this effort: $10-$20 billion over 10 years.
To naysayers of aid to Haiti, Sachs says:
So world leaders must now grapple with how to structure aid efforts in Haiti, with its history of corruption and weak institutions. In a statement following the meeting, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said,
Let’s see if the interest, concern, and good will emerging from this tragedy can be channeled into a coherent, transparent, and collaborative development agenda that prioritizes broad-based economic growth, debt relief, and poverty reduction. This is our opportunity.
On Monday, Haiti’s top leaders gathered with international donors in Montreal to assert their central role in the reconstruction agenda. Foreign ministers from 14 countries largely agreed that we are looking at a decade, at minimum, of concerted investment in Haiti. The outcomes of the meeting outlined the obvious: Haiti will need deep and broad long-term assistance. A more involved donors conference will convene down the road where actual dollars will be pledged following an independent needs assessment.
While the beleaguered Haitian government presented an initial $3 billion plan to salvage Port-au-Prince (housing the homeless and rebuilding infrastructure), others have begun to press for unprecedented levels of aid and coordination.
On Project Syndicate this week, Jeffrey Sachs recommends focusing on five key sectors for long-term reconstruction and development: smallholder, or peasant, agriculture; reconstruction; port services and light manufacturing; local small-scale trade; and public services, including health care and education. He also pushes for an overarching framework and an unprecedented display of international cooperation led by the Inter-American Development Bank because of its track record in Haiti. His price tag for this effort: $10-$20 billion over 10 years.
To naysayers of aid to Haiti, Sachs says:
“Other countries have risen from the rubble of natural disaster and war, and Haiti can do the same over the next five to ten years. For the next decade, however, and especially for the next five years, there will be no escape from the need to rely on international financing, and mainly grant assistance, to finance the rebuilding effort. The world has spent heavily in Haiti before, but very ineffectively. This time, it must be done right.”
So world leaders must now grapple with how to structure aid efforts in Haiti, with its history of corruption and weak institutions. In a statement following the meeting, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said,
"It's important that we see ourselves as partners with Haiti, not patrons… We bear a responsibility to our taxpayers to assure that the money that our government commits will be well spent transparently and with results on the ground for the Haitian people.”
Let’s see if the interest, concern, and good will emerging from this tragedy can be channeled into a coherent, transparent, and collaborative development agenda that prioritizes broad-based economic growth, debt relief, and poverty reduction. This is our opportunity.
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