Publication

Haiti’s January 12 earthquake left up to 300,000 people dead, an equal number injured, and more than a million displaced; overall damage and loss are valued at $7.9 billion, or about 120 percent of Haiti’s 2009 gross domestic product. The immediate international response focused on rescue, the provision of humanitarian relief and security, and cleanup. The March 31 Donors’ Conference in New York yielded both a Haitian-led recovery and development plan supported by international donors and a mechanism for coordinating donor allocated resources. Donors pledged more than $5 billion over the next 18 months. Activities initiated over the next 18 months must support longer-term strategies to revitalize all of Haiti, including long neglected rural areas. Haiti’s decentralized recovery and development must address its debilitating inequality and poverty while strengthening the capacity of the government.