Oxfam: Haiti Reconstruction Proceeds at a 'Snail's Pace'

Oxfam: Haiti Reconstruction Proceeds at a 'Snail's Pace'

In a report released today, international agency Oxfam said reconstruction of Haiti, two years on from its devastating earthquake, has proceeded “at a snail’s pace” leaving more than half a million Haitians still homeless. Oxfam urged the Haitian government and donor countries to accelerate reconstruction of the country.

In the new report, Haiti: The Slow Road to Reconstruction – Two Years after the Earthquake, Oxfam called on the government of Haiti to implement a comprehensive reconstruction plan and re-house the approximate 520,000 people still living under tarpaulins or in tents. It urged donors to disburse funds already pledged to reconstruction efforts and called on the international community to strengthen the government’s capacity to effectively coordinate reconstruction.

The agency said the emergency relief effort following the earthquake saved countless lives and provided essentials for over a million people but much more needed to be done to meet Haitians’ long-term needs for housing, jobs and basic services such as education, water and health care.

“With a new government in place and billions of aid dollars pledged, Haitians are left asking why there has not been more progress in rebuilding the country,” said Oxfam’s Country Director in Haiti, Cecilia Millan. “The second anniversary of the devastating earthquake must be a call to action. Despite the apparent slowness of reconstruction, this remains an opportunity for Haiti´s political and economic elite to address the chronic poverty and inequality that has plagued the country since independence. Haiti must move forward, not backward.”

Two years on, there has been some positive progress made towards reconstruction. Nearly half of all earthquake rubble has been removed, accounting for five million cubic meters of debris. That rate is significantly faster than the rate of removal in past humanitarian crises. In a country where only an estimated five per cent of roads were covered in hard-top before the earthquake, some 430 kilometres of roads have been constructed or rehabilitated since the earthquake, providing vital infrastructure for economic recovery. Oxfam reached 532,000 Haitians in 2011, providing safe water and sanitation facilities; supporting small businesses; rebuilding communities and carrying out advocacy work with communities and partners on governance and protection issues.

However, problems remain. Over half a million people still live under tents and tarpaulins; most Haitians lack running water, a toilet or a access to a doctor; cholera has claimed thousands of lives and remains a major threat to public health and more than 70 per cent of the workforce is under or unemployed – many of these problems existed before the earthquake.

Oxfam’s report acknowledged impediments to reconstruction, such as the recent election, which was followed by a political stand-off between the new president and parliament.

Billions of dollars of aid were pledged for reconstruction, but promises of funding haven’t always translated into money on the ground. According to the UN, as of September 2011, donors had disbursed just 43 per cent of the $4.6 billion pledged for reconstruction in 2010 and 2011.

With some 70 per cent of Haiti’s budget funded by development assistance, donor support is essential if the new government is to deliver on its promises to tackle Haiti’s most pressing issues.

“Donors must honor their promises to Haiti and stay the course. We must not allow impatience with the slow pace of progress to stand in the way of much needed support to those who remain without access to basic services or opportunities for a secure future. We must work together and keep our long-term commitments to the Haitian people,” said Millan.

The report Haiti: The Slow Road to Reconstruction – Two Years after the Earthquake can be downloaded from Oxfam’s website at http://oxf.am/oY6.

Two years on, Oxfam has provided aid to more than one million people through emergency earthquake response and cholera prevention work. In 2011, with the new Government of Haiti in place, Oxfam began to shift its focus from emergency needs to working with Haitian partners on initiatives aimed at boosting the country’s reconstruction, from improved water and sanitation systems to job creation within Port-au-Prince as well as in rural areas.

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