Patrick Senia has been leading Handicap International’s work in Haiti for the last three years. His team, specialised in development, took over to follow on from the emergency projects initiated by the association to respond to the earthquake which hit in January 2010. A few days before the 5thanniversary of the earthquake, he reviews the challenges that need to be met in one of the poorest countries in the world which struggles from one natural disaster to another.
Why is the country still dealing with the consequences of a disaster that occurred five years ago?
When the earthquake hit Haiti, in January 2010, Handicap International was winding up its emergency response to the two violent cyclones that had wrought devastation across the country in September 2008. In the wake of the earthquake, the country suffered from a cholera epidemic which has not yet been stemmed, followed by two further cyclones, and in the last few months an outbreak of chikungunya. The Haitian state is working hard to remedy the chronic political instability in the country, but is struggling to put into place an electoral process that is satisfactory to the political parties, civil society and the elected chambers (senate and parliament).
I do not know of any other country in the world which is so prone to natural disasters. This, along with the weakness of the State and the very rapid population growth in the country, constitutes a serious barrier to development. The damage from the earthquake is still visible, people who lost their houses are still living in temporary camps, and any Haitian you care to ask can tell you, as if it was yesterday, exactly what they were doing on 10th January 2010. However, things have certainly changed in Haiti since the earthquake, and we can measure the progress made. If the number of NGOs in the field is anything to go by, the solidarity shown has not waned, although the media has turned its attention to other crises and conflicts and the funding for development work continues to decrease.
What is Handicap International’s assessment of this period?
The figures speak for themselves. In the first few days after 10th January 2010 we mobilised dozens of people and deployed health care activities, distributions and an orthopaedic fitting workshop. At the height of our intervention we had a team of 600 people, including 80 expatriates, working in the country. We offered orthopaedic fitting to 1,050 people and provided 90,000 people with both basic and rehabilitation care. One thousand shelters were built to accommodate 5,000 people and over 20,000 tons of aid was supplied. After the emergency phase, we wanted to continue our work in Haiti, knowing that we could not withdraw from the country without ensuring there are sustainable solutions in place. That is why, five years after the disaster, we still have a large team working in the country (120 people). We are also developing new projects (on road safety and mother and child health for example) as we are very aware of the broader needs in the country which will need to be met.
What are Handicap International’s current flagship actions in Haiti?
One project which clearly illustrates our determination to build long-term responses is the training course we have designed to ensure the country has its own rehabilitation capabilities (orthopaedic fitting and rehabilitation). We were acutely aware of the lack of physiotherapists and ortho-prosthetic technicians in the country and it seemed unreasonable to continue dealing with the problem with handouts and the recruiting of external resources. We therefore contacted a number of partners, including the Don Bosco University in El Salvador, in order to set up this training course which offers students a recognised qualification. The first class of rehabilitation technicians to graduate from the course have already started working in different health care structures across Haiti, and a second class will graduate next March. At the same time, the student ortho-prosthetic technicians are finishing their training course and will start working with amputees as of February 2015. Another vital project has been the renovation of the rehabilitation facilities in several hospitals both in Port-au-Prince and in other regions of the country.
Of course, our activities are not solely limited to the health care sector. We also help the most vulnerable populations to prepare for natural disasters (cyclones in particular) in the south of the country, in remote rural areas, and in one of the poorest municipalities in the Port-au-Prince area (Carrefour). We have set up facilities to store emergency supplies and have carried out building work to ensure the emergency shelters are fully accessible. In each case we work with the local authorities and community leaders (local elected officials, for example) in order to involve people from all levels of Haitian society in our work.
Is this work not somewhat derisory given the extent of the needs in Haiti?
Handicap International alone cannot “save” Haiti. However, I am convinced that we can help Haiti back on its feet, by providing our specialist expertise and by showing that it is possible to effect change. Our aim is to create the right conditions for genuine development by initiating long-term projects (training courses, disaster risk reduction, economic inclusion, protection for the most vulnerable etc.). The balance is precarious, and the projects need extensive support, but this also means our partners are taking on increased responsibility, with a view to a full handover in the future. One example which comes to mind are the civil protection committees which are responsible for stocking contingency supplies and distributing these in the event of a natural disaster.