April 12, 2010
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in conjunction with the Department of Defense, has put forth an unprecedented level of aid in response to the earthquake that took place on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The reaction was unparalleled fiscally, as well as in matters of speed and effectiveness, to any prior disaster relief measures by the United States around the globe. In similar circumstances, natural disaster assistance has followed predictable patterns, but in Haiti the efforts have gone beyond traditional assistance. The Government of Haiti has received over 1.7 billion constant U.S. dollars in ever increasing foreign assistance in the last 10 years.[1] Instead of continuing patterns of reliance on foreign funds, the international community has pledged their commitment to changing the conditions of poverty that have plagued Haiti since their independence in 1804. On March 31, 2010 nearly fifty countries cumulatively pledged 9.9 billion dollars “for the next three years and beyond,” announced UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, showing that the international community has come together “dramatically and in solidarity with the Haitian people.”[2] Included in these pledges are 5.3 billion dollars to help with the immediate reconstruction of Haiti’s infrastructure.
The United States has a clear policy concerning foreign assistance: “Congress, recognizing that prompt United States assistance to alleviate human suffering caused by natural and manmade disasters is an important expression of the humanitarian concern and tradition of the people of the United States, affirms the willingness of the United States to provide assistance for the relief and rehabilitation of people and countries affected by such disasters.”[3] John F. Kennedy established USAID in 1961, which since its founding has provided 490 billon constant U.S. dollars in foreign assistance[4]. However, a more recent turning point in its history was the State-USAID FY 2004-2009 Strategic Plan, which synchronized foreign assistance and diplomatic programming. The five basic categories of U.S. foreign assistance are Bilateral Economic Assistance, Multilateral Economic Assistance, Military Assistance, Law Enforcement Assistance, and Humanitarian Assistance.[5] Humanitarian assistance most notably deals with natural disasters and famine.
The most prominent large-scale natural disasters in the last decade have been the Pakistan/India Earthquake on October 8, 2005, Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma on May 2, 2008, and the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that caused tsunamis, which affected Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Somalia, Maldives, Tanzania, and Bangladesh. Additionally, in 2010, there have been two major earthquakes: a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti on January 12 and a magnitude 8.8 earthquakes in Chile on February 27.
The earthquake in Haiti can be compared, in terms of the action pursued by the United States Government, with the earthquakes in Chile and Northwestern Territory of Pakistan, Cyclone Nargis in Burma, and the damage in Sri Lanka caused by the tsunami. Aid varied in length, but the incidents were relatively similar in size and scope. Haiti is distinguished because of the collapse of its already feeble infrastructure and the percentage of Haitians that were affected. The Haitian government already relies on formal economic assistance, making up 35-40% of the budget, for fiscal sustainability.[6] The United States, along with the Canadian government and European Union, has granted increasing amounts of aid to Haiti over the last decade, amounting to approximately 4.5 billion dollars. By comparison, over the previous decade the U.S. has given considerably less to Burma, amounting to an annual average of 17.5 million dollars[7]; Chile receives an average of 1.76 million dollars annually[8], and Sri Lanka receives an average of 51.46 million dollars[9]. Pakistan has received an enormous amount of aid due to its critical role in the Global War on Terrorism, which falls under the State-USAID FY 2004-2009 Strategic Plan, though prior to the Global War on Terrorism, in the year 2000, it received only 45.1 million dollars in aid.[10]
There are six basic lessons that have been learned from operating in a transition setting since 1994. First, that security is paramount because without a degree of safety, people are not ready for political development. Secondly, that “plans must be flexible, straightforward and have a clear goal and clear and concise objectives.” Thirdly, that expectations must be realistic and over commitment avoided. Fourth, that workers must be monitoring constantly in order to see what is working in a region and what policies are ineffective. Fifth, that members must be opportunistic, especially in the areas of investment and must be willing to take risks in order to bring about positive change. Finally, that activities must be aligned with local needs and “Citizen participation and local contributions reinforce local ownership.” [11] These trends can be seen in USAID’s work throughout their projects.
When catastrophe strikes, USAID has a set of guidelines for teams entering into a disaster area. However they note that “even with respect to the same type of disaster, the way in which assistance should be furnished may vary substantially from one situation to another depending on country specific, even region or department specific factors.”[12] The recent earthquake in Haiti rendered the infrastructure and economy virtually helpless. By contrast, aid efforts in response to the earthquake in Chile, while immediately after the disaster were unmanageable for the Chilean government, were able to be turned over to local authorities thirty-eight days later, incurring a cost of less than fourteen million dollars. “USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) in Chile demobilized on March 23, due to the Government of Chile’s significant progress in meeting emergency and humanitarian needs in affected areas.”[13]
Haiti does not have a simplistic answer and must be supported in a different manner. The Haitian government will not be able to take on the task of rebuilding itself without a vast amount of continued foreign assistance. By comparison, in the case of the Cyclone Nargis in Burma, the U.S. gave just shy of fifty million dollars and approximately eleven weeks of aid, though there was a four hundred twenty eight million dollar appeal made by the United Nations to assist in the rebuilding of Burma through April 2009. Pakistan received the bulk of its aid, totaling approximately eighty million dollars, by week nine, with slight increases up to ninety-seven million dollars by week twenty-four. Sri Lanka received fifty-five million dollars in aid over twenty-eight weeks, which had actually dropped from a total of sixty-two million dollars in aid on week five. The reconstruction of Haiti has been underway for only thirteen weeks and has already received over one billion dollars from the United States, which is more than ten times the amount given to Pakistan. Though roughly only ten percent of the aid that has been pledged, this amount supersedes any amount in the recent past. There have been some concerns raised about the fulfillment of these pledges, primarily because of what happened in the wake of Hurricane Mitch when nine billion dollars were pledged, yet only one- third of the funds materialized. A spokesperson for the aid group Oxfam stated that, “Soon these pledges will need to turn into concrete progress on the ground. This cannot be a VIP pageant of half promises."[14] U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes feels more optimistic. "I hope what it will do is give confidence to people in Haiti that the international community has not lost interest, they are absolutely there with them, that there is a plan for the future,"[15] he told the Associated Press.
There are interactions among Global Trends that could potentially develop for better or worse. More jobs may mean increased poverty but by sending people to Haiti the U.S. may be taking away jobs that the Haitians should develop. High levels of debt affect both economics and public health,[16] which is why the World Bank’s forgiveness of 1.2 billion dollars of Haiti’s debt was such a monumental step towards progress.[17] Poverty and population put strain on natural resources, such as forests and clean water supplies, which then leave people susceptible to displacement and epidemics.[18] Additionally, public health is poor in countries without a middle class.[19] If the members of the international community honor their commitments to aid Haiti, there could be a monumental reversal of the devastating course that the nation has been on almost since its independence in 1804. Thus far, by the sheer gravity of their actions, it appears that they will follow through with their commitment. ''We are here at the invitation of your government to help you,'' Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated. ''As President Obama has said, we will be here today, tomorrow and for the time ahead.''[20]
Bibliography (Chicago Manual of Style)
Buss, Terry F. with Adam Gardner. Haiti in the Balance: Why Foreign Aid has Failed and What We Can Do About It. Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2008. [Book quoted by many sources. Concrete ideas on why aid has failed to yield results in Haiti and how that can be changed.]
“Disaster Assistance.” United States Agency for International Development, http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/. [Fact sheets on disaster assistance from USAID.]
“Foreign Service Act of 1980.” United State Agency for International Development. February 15, 1981. http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/400/fsa.pdf. [Information on the Foreign Service Act of 1980.]
Garrett, Laurie. “The Challenge of Public Health.” Council on Foreign Affairs. January/February 2007. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/62268/laurie-garrett/the-challenge-of-global-health. [Class reading on public health in developing countries: why public health is such an issue.]
Katz, Jonathan M. “Donors Pledge $9.9 Billion for Haiti.” Time Magazine Online. April 1, 2010. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1976960,00.html. [News article on foreign aid to Haiti, released April 1st.]
Launder, Mark. “In Show of Support, Clinton Goes to Haiti.” The New York Times. January 16, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/world/americas/17diplo.html. [News article about Hillary Clinton going to Haiti to reassure the Haitians of aid coming and continuing.]
Snarr, Michael, Snarr, D. (1988). Introducing Global Issues. Linne Rienne Publishers. [Adapted chart of different global trends and how they intersect. Given in class.]
“Ten-Year Country Report: Burma.” United States Overseas Loans and Grants (Greenbook). http://gbk.eads.usaidallnet.gov/query/do. [Informational overview of USA loans and grants to Burma over the past ten years.]
“Ten-Year Country Report: Haiti.” United States Overseas Loans and Grants (Greenbook). http://gbk.eads.usaidallnet.gov/query/do. [See above.]
“Ten-Year Country Report: Chile.” United States Overseas Loans and Grants (Greenbook). http://gbk.eads.usaidallnet.gov/query/do. [See above.]
“Ten-Year Country Report: Pakistan.” United States Overseas Loans and Grants (Greenbook). http://gbk.eads.usaidallnet.gov/query/do. [See above.]
“Ten-Year Country Report: Sri Lanka.” United States Overseas Loans and Grants (Greenbook). http://gbk.eads.usaidallnet.gov/query/do. [See above.]
“Transition Initiatives.” U.S. Agency for International Development. May 1, 2009. http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross_cutting_programs/transition_initiatives/aboutoti5.html. [The goals for transitioning situations abroad: USAID informational website.]
“The U.S. Foreign Assistance Guide.” United States Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development. January 2005. USG_USAID-DOS_ForeignAsstanceRefGuide_ PNADC240.pdf . [USAID informational site.]
“The World Fact-book, Central America and the Caribbean: Haiti.” Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html. [Basic information on Haiti: geography, population, economy, etc.]
[1] “Ten Year Country Report: Haiti,” United States Overseas Loans and Grants (Greenbook). http://gbk.eads.usaidallnet.gov/query/do.
[2] Jonathan M. Katz, “Donors Pledge $9.9 Billion for Haiti”. Time Magazine Online. April 1, 2010. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1976960,00.html.
[3] “The U.S. Foreign Assistance Guide,” (23) United States Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, January 2005, USG_USAID-DOS_ForeignAsstanceRefGuide_PNADC240.pdf.
[4] “Foreign Service Act of 1980,” U.S. Agency for International Development, February 15, 1981, http://www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/400/fsa.pdf.
[5] “The U.S. Foreign Assistance Guide,” (i) United States Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, January 2005, USG_USAID-DOS_ForeignAsstanceRefGuide_PNADC240.pdf.
[6] Christopher Marquis, “$1 Billion Is Pledged to Help Haiti Rebuild, Topping Request”, The New York Times, July 21, 2004. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/21/world/1-billion-is-pledged-to-help-haiti-rebuild-topping-request.html.
[7] “Ten Year Country Report” United States Overseas Loans and Grants (Greenbook), http://gbk.eads.usaidallnet.gov/query/do?_program=/eads/gbk/countryReport&unit=R.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] “Transition Initiatives,” United States Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, May 1, 2009, http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-cutting_programs/transition_initiatives/aboutoti5.html.
[12] “Natural Disaster Lesson Learned: A Review of USAID Disaster Assistance Documentation,” United States Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADG038.pdf
[13] “Distaster Assistance,” United States Agency for International Development, http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/.
[14] Katz, “Donors Pledge $9.9 Billion for Haiti.”
[15] Ibid., 1.
[16] Laurie Garrett, “The Challenge of Public Health,” Council on Foreign Affairs, January/February 2007, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/62268/laurie-garrett/the-challenge-of-global-health.
[17] Jonathan M. Katz, “Haiti Receives $1.2B in Dept Forgiveness”, ABC News/ Money, June 30, 2009, http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=7972280.
[18] Laurie Garrett, “The Challenge of Public Health.”
[19] Snarr, Michael, Snarr, D, (1988), Introducing Global Issues, Linne Rienne Publishers.
[20] Mark Launder, “In Show of Support, Clinton Goes to Haiti,” The New York Times, January 16, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/world/americas/17diplo.html.
