EU aid disbursement in Haiti faces obstacles

The European Commission has drawn attention to the need for good government structures in Haiti in order to re-build the country in the wake of the January 12 2010 earthquake.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels held on January 11, EU Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, said that the reconstruction of Haiti is a priority for the EU although spending pledges had been hampered by the lack of government structures to coordinate projects in the medium and long-term.

The EU and its Member States last year together pledged €1.2bn of long to medium-term assistance. Only 25 per cent of the sum has so far been disbursed. The funds have been mainly spent on providing basic services, schools, hospitals, and reconstruction of roads. Piebalgs said that long-term projects such as infrastructure building took time. In addition, he said that technical and security complications and the need to “rebuild Haiti stronger than before,” all go to explain why only a quarter of the aid has been spent thus far in spite of the country’s needs.

Fellow EU Commissioner for Emergency Aid, Kristalina Georgieva, told the same press conference that the EU had pledged €320M of humanitarian assistance in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake including a €120M sum from the European Commission. These funds had been spent on food aid, sanitation, emergency shelter and cash for work programmes, also disaster preparedness and cholera treatment centres, she said. “The humanitarian crisis in Haiti is not over,” she added. A €30M sun will go to the country 2011 to meet ongoing urgent needs such as sanitation and healthcare.

She added that the European Commission had learnt some lessons on best practice in responding to large scale humanitarian disasters from both the earthquake in Haiti and the 2004 tsunami in South East Asia. These included the pre-positioning of aid humanitarian aid stocks in disaster-prone zones, the need to link humanitarian aid and development and recognition of the role played by the deployment of military units in emergency situations.

Natalia Alonso, Head of the EU Liaison Office of the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Plan, said in a press statement: “Health continues to be a major challenge in Haiti, with the most recent crisis – the deadly outbreak of cholera – exposing the country’s still weak health and water and sanitation systems. Securing access to adequate healthcare facilities is of paramount importance to Haiti’s future.”

It added: “Haiti is a nation which finds itself at a crossroads. The past year has been incredibly testing, but progress is being made, with the construction of schools, shelters and health facilities. However, the lack of available land is a key challenge which. Combined with the lack of a government building code, is seriously hampering efforts, and the Haitian authorities should adopt a code as soon as possible.”