Haiti and the World Bank

In September 1953, Haiti became a nation member of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the first of five member institutions of the World Bank Group. Despite its urgent need for humanitarian aid as the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, Haiti's political instability under a series of dictatorial regimes limited its access to international aid and development programs. Due to poor governance, the country was considered a risky recipient of foreign assistance. This resulted in little improvement and the country remained dysfunctional and impoverished despite billions in foreign aid over decades. Debt relief and funds The World Bank Group’s involvement in Haiti has focused on reconstruction and development. The country has suffered deterioration from Western slavery and imperialism, ceaseless civil unrest, decades of extreme poverty, and devastation from a series of natural disasters. Following its satisfaction for the requirements of domestic, economic, and social reforms, Haiti was granted a total of US $1.2 billion in 2009 by reaching the finishing point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) debt relief initiative approved by the Boards of the International Development Association (IDA) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In response to the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, the IDA waived the country's remaining US $36 million debt in May, and the World Bank made US $479 million available for Haiti's recovery from the earthquake and development through June 2016. == Country Partnership Framework and projects ==

In September 2015, the World Bank Board of Executive Directors endorsed the New Country Partnership Strategy in Haiti. The Country Partnership Framework is collectively set by the Haitian Government and branches of the World Bank Group including the International Development Association (IDA), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). This support facilitated the resumption of business after the earthquake and provided packages of loans for private sector clients including the independent power producer, two banks, a micro-credit institution, mining exploration, a hotel, and an industrial park. The IFC has supported many of Haiti’s private sector projects with its portfolio of investments amounting to the US $32.7 million in 7 transactions. Significant projects Strengthening primary health care and surveillance in Haiti The project is projected to aid in providing basic healthcare services to 3 million people. It aims to increase the ability for the government to monitor health risks and the immunization process, as well as better the relationship between the Haitian government and international organizations within the health sector. This is an active project with the project end date being December 31, 2024. Currently, the results of this project are: 45.3% of children aged 12 to 23 months in project intervention areas are fully vaccinated, 45% of suspected cases of cholera are given notifications within 10 days, 72% and 77% of suspected cases of diphtheria and measles, respectively, were investigated and reported within 48 hours. The project is being led by Andrew Sunil Rajkumar and the total project cost being $70 million with $50 million being the commitment amount. Strengthening disaster risk management and climate resilience The project objective is to create enhanced infrastructure to support efficient disaster risk management by implementing a national early warning system, better emergency response, and improve the evacuation process in high-risk areas. It will also implement the development of schools and community centers to be used as emergency shelters, create improved building codes, and give training. Active projects == Current strategy ==

The World Bank curates objectives tailored to member country's needs. The World Bank's priorities in Haiti are listed as follows. Growing the economy outside of Port-au-Prince by revitalizing energy sources, increasing the activity in the private sector, and increasing access to funds. Increase human capital through promotion of primary education, maternal and child healthcare. Aiding communities affected by the cholera outbreak by providing water and sanitation in these areas. Rebuilding stronger infrastructure to decrease the disaster risk by floods and other natural disasters as well as having greater emergency preparedness. Improve the government’s capacity for data and creating effective policy around that data, while also providing a system of transparency. == Controversy ==

Mining The World Bank has been criticized because of their assistance in drafting a revision to a mining bill that would expand the mining sector and increase the potential of foreign companies interest in Haiti, by bypassing the current bureaucratic system and parliamentary oversight altogether. This initial act in 2013 was met with multiple Haitian groups filing an appeal through the World Bank's office of complaints, due to the lack of public input in the matter, a requirement of the World Bank. Amid the Haitian government dissolving in 2015 concerns arose again regarding the fate of this revision and its possible impact on the environment and local communities. The draft bill is considered by activists to have the potential to further political turmoil as elections were underway to select a new president and parliament and this issue could be pushed depending on the political leaning. The team was led by Raju Jan Singh (Program Leader, LCC8C). The work was carried out jointly with the IFC (Sylvain Kakou) and MIGA (Petal Hacket) under the overall guidance of Mary Barton-Dock (Special Envoy for Haiti, LCC8C) and Jun Zhang (Senior Regional Manager for the Caribbean, IFC). ==References==