From: Mercy Corps
The devastation in Haiti wasn't caused only by an earthquake. The epic scale of the damage reflects decades of chronic underdevelopment and the conditions of desperate poverty many of Haiti's people live with every day.
The international community has invested millions of dollars in Haiti over the years, achieving a few notable successes. For example, Haiti's child mortality rate has been cut in half since 1990.
However, the earthquake exacerbates an already dire humanitarian situation in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Plagued by hunger and political instability, this disaster has increased the needs of many impoverished families. Read about Mercy Corps' relief efforts in Haiti.
Along with job creation and economic development, foreign aid can give the world's most vulnerable the boost they need to catalyze change village by village. It builds wells that supply villages with clean, safe drinking water. It supplies small farmers with seeds so they grow crops to feed their families. It vaccinates children so they start life healthy and creates economic opportunities that lift up entire communities, breaking the cycle of hunger and poverty. Learn More.
As Haiti rebuilds, help make sure it and other nations like it have a better chance to succeed. Ask Congress to rewrite the 40-year old Foreign Assistance Act to make aid work better for the world's most vulnerable in Haiti and countries like it. Tell them you want your tax dollars to help create secure, healthy communities that are better prepared to cope with disaster when it strikes.
The Haitian government reported that 150,000 earthquake victims have been buried since the quake, and the eventual death toll may reach 200,000. It is estimated that 194,000 people were injured.
The U.S. special coordinator for relief and reconstruction estimated that as many as 800,000 Haitians are now homeless. Tents are extremely scarce, Haitian government plans for sweeping camps for the displaced are nascent, and many of the homeless are fleeing back to the provinces that they call home.
The earthquake dealt a traumatic blow to Haiti’s government, the UN and many of our peer NGOs. It choked off supply routes, and despite valiant efforts, flows of aid have been slower and more complicated than any of us would have liked.
In the days after the earthquake, President Obama pledged $100 million in aid to Haiti to support what he called one of the largest international relief efforts in history. USAID now claims that spending has nearly quadrupled to $379 million.
Foreign Aid
The law that governs U.S. development assistance has not been rewritten since 1961 – the time of President Kennedy — and this Cold War relic just doesn’t cut it in the 21st century. Over the past few decades the law has been gradually tweaked, expanded, and loaded with so many directives, objectives, and pet priorities that it no longer provides coherent goals or an effective structure for U.S. foreign aid.
President Obama and the Congress have been working to increase funding for foreign aid, and Mercy Corps strongly support those efforts. But corresponding reforms to our aid structures are necessary to make sure the assistance gets those who most need it.
Candidate Obama recognized this challenge, arguing during the campaign that “too little of our taxpayers’ resources [are] getting to the problem and no single person…[is] responsible for directing and managing what should be one of our most powerful foreign policy tools.” He vowed that, as President, he would build an “elevated, streamlined, and empowered 21st century U.S. development agency.”
READ A BLOG POST ON FOREIGN AID REFORM>>
LEARN MORE FROM THE MODERNIZING FOREIGN ASSISTANCE NETWORK>>
Tags: Foreign Aid, Legislative, One Minute
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