DRLA 2-5-2010 Response Statement

Two weeks after the devastating earthquake that resulted in more than 112,000 deaths and 194,000 injuries, the people of Haiti continue to face real immediate challenges due to poor sanitation, lack of access to clean water, and inadequate shelter.  However, as the Haitian authorities and the international community move from search and rescue mode into the recovery and rehabilitation phase, the question now is what can be done to help those who have survived . . . thrive.

Haiti was the poorest country in the western hemisphere prior to this tragic event, how committed is the international community to supporting the people of Haiti and their government to change this fact?  According to the United Nations (UN), donors have already given $783 million and an additional $1.13 billion was recently pledged in Montreal, Canada during a meeting attended by Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and representatives from the U.N., donor countries, and international organizations.  According to the U.S. Department of State, an international donor conference will be scheduled for the coming months. 

The money pledged to date with the promise of billions more in the coming months represent the goodwill of the international community.  However, the unfortunate reality is that as people and nations who have suffered from devastating earthquakes, conflict, tsunamis, and floods fade from the front pages, so too does the will of the international community to honor their pledges.  For example, in February of 2004, the UN held a two day donor’s conference on Liberia where UN member states pledged $500 million to rebuild Liberia. To date, only a fraction of those funds pledged have been appropriated.  Moreover, three years after donors pledged $880 million for Cambodian war rehabilitation, only $460 million had been delivered.  And finally, a year after donors pledged $1 billion for the victims of Bam earthquake, less than 20 percent of the promises were fulfilled.

Clearly, the people of Haiti need us to do a better job.  They have been on this road to recovery before, yet each step forward has suffered setbacks.  Soon, the people from the poorest country in the western hemisphere will again be faced with threats of hurricanes and floods.  Are we committed to honoring our commitment today so that they can have a brighter tomorrow? 

Ky Luu is the executive director of the Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy at Tulane University and the former director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance where he led the U.S. government’s international disaster assistance program.