Cacophonies of Aid, Failed State Building andNGOs in Haiti: setting the stage for disaster, envisioning the future

Abstract

The January 2010 earthquake in Haiti was a catastrophe not only for the loss of life it caused, but also because it destroyed the very thin layer of state administrative capacity that was in place in the country. This article argues that the fragility of the Haitian state institutions was exacerbated by international strategies that promoted NGOs as substitutes for the state. These strategies have generated a vicious circle that, while solving immediate logistical problems, ended up weakening Haiti's institutions. However, the article does not call for an overarching condemnation of NGOs. Instead, it explores two cases of community-based NGOs, Partners In Health and Fonkoze, that have contributed to creating durable social capital, generated employment and provided functioning services to the communities where they operated. The article shows that organisations that are financially independent and internationally connected, embrace a needs-based approach to their activities and share a long-term commitment to the communities within which they operate can contribute to bringing about substantial improvement for people living in situations of extreme poverty. It concludes that in the aftermath of a crisis of the dimension of the January earthquake it is crucial to channel support towards organisations that show this type of commitment.

Impacts of natural disasters on smallholder farmers: gaps and recommendations

“…Emergency relief provisions provided by aid agencies and I/NGOs, especially necessities such as tents, potable water, food and basic health care, were mostly focused on cities. Billions of dollars were spent by international funding agencies that promoted NGOs as substitutes for the state which weakened the government [13,43]. Nevertheless, farmers reported receiving no support, leading to increased crime, mortality, and hunger [44].…”

“…A shortage of labour due to death and injury of humans and livestock is frequently observed after disasters, such as after the super cyclone in Orissa, India [71]. In addition, labour is diverted to rebuilding efforts as seen in Haiti and Nepal [13,60]. Furthermore, existing farm tools may be lost due to building collapse, as seen in Nepal [60].…”

“…Issues with procurement, transport and logistical challenges for distribution happened due to complicated import and transport regulations that created roadblocks for foreign aid agencies and NGOs. Finally, the foreign I/NGOs primarily conducted the relief and rehabilitation, but these efforts sometimes weakened the state administrative capacity as seen in Haiti [13], though their intent was to assist in institution building and fight corruption. Poor coordination between foreign I/NGOs and national governments contributed to this situation.…”

“…Apart from disasters that occur directly in rural areas, damage to cities also impacts rural families, as urban-torural migration causes food shortages and the consumption of planting materials as occurred after the Haitian earthquake in 2010 [2]. All these factors may lead to a long-term disaster in rural areas as witnessed in Haiti [13,14]. Therefore, after a natural disaster, rural areas require emergency interventions to maintain livelihoods and food security [14,15], and a longer-term integrated recovery plan [16] to minimize the possibility of a secondary disaster, as inexpensively as possible given limited local financial resources.…”

‘Embedded’ Assistance: Finn Church Aid's Secondment in Somalia

“…Indeed, in the worst case, their interventions are criticized for serving to erode state capabilities. 2 This article presents an example of how a non-state actor has provided tangible support to a fragile state government, assisting in the process of building capacity to guide the country towards resilience.…”