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“This is a ‘defining 

moment’ in Haiti’s development, and for U.S. leadership 

and engagement. ”

May 6, 2010 

The International Donors’ Conference 

and Support for Haiti’s Future

Summary

•	 At the March 31, 2010 International Donors’ Conference on Haiti some $10 billion was pledged 

in support of the government of Haiti’s “Action Plan for National Recovery and Development 

of Haiti,” with $5.3 billion earmarked for the next two years. 

•	 A Multi-Donor Trust Fund, managed by the World Bank, will oversee the allocation of international resources toward activities approved by a mixed Haitian/international Interim Haiti 

Recovery Commission (IHRC). 

•	 U.S. support will respond to critical needs in agriculture, security, energy, and sustainable 

healthcare, with strategic investments in governance and housing.

•	 Organization of American States (OAS) support will emphasize electoral process, a civil 

registry, and land titling, with building government capacity an underlying objective. 

•	 International players are committed to support Haitian leadership, to improve coordination 

and to avoid building parallel structures that bypass the state. 

•	 Direct financial allocations in support of the Haitian government’s budget are a critical 

immediate need. 

•	 This is a defining moment for achieving development through shared vision, greater inclusiveness, and significantly improved transparency and accountability in the allocation and 

management of resources.

A New Starting Point

At the March 31 International Donors’ Conference on Haiti in New York pledges for close to $10 

billion dollars with $5.3 billion earmarked for the next two years were made by more than 50 

countries and international organizations in support of the Haitian government’s “Action Plan 

for National Recovery and Development of Haiti.” Creation of the action plan followed a series of 

pre-conference consultations among diverse stakeholders, including the Haitian diaspora, and a 

Post-Disaster Needs Assessment conducted under the auspices of the Haitian government. The 

action plan builds on the government’s previously developed poverty reduction and economic 

growth strategy and on priorities for job creation and investment identified at the April 2009 Haiti 

Donors’ Conference. 

Immediate priorities include the provision to those displaced by the earthquake of food, medical care and shelters in safe locations prior to the approaching hurricane season. They also include 

Robert Maguire

E-mail: remaguire@verizon.net

Phone: 202.884.9585

Casie Copeland

E-mail: ccopeland@usip.org

Phone: 202.429.3875

peaceBrieF26
© USIP 2010 • All rights reserved.

The International Donors’ Conference and Support for Haiti’s Future

page 2 • PB 26 • May 6, 2010

decentralization of investments, services and opportunities beyond Port-au-Prince, particularly 

in support of newly-envisaged growth poles in the Cap Haitien, St. Marc and Les Cayes areas. The 

creation of at least 500,000 new jobs in construction, agriculture, light manufacturing and tourism 

is a key goal. 

 The action plan envisions a strong role for the government of Haiti in identifying strategies as 

well as directing and coordinating activities. It foresees long-term, formal partnerships between 

the Haitian government and donors. An Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), co-chaired by 

Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the U.N. special 

envoy, will coordinate the implementation of the plan. To achieve heightened coordination of 

resource allocations, donors will channel funds through a Multi-Donor Trust Fund administered by 

the World Bank. Disbursements from the trust fund will finance recovery and development initiatives authorized by the IHRC. The Interim Commission, after 18 months, will transfer responsibilities 

to a Haitian Development Authority. 

The U.S. Response

In the aftermath of the quake, the United States expended $700 million in emergency funding. On 

March 25th, the Obama administration requested $2.8 billion from Congress for Haiti disaster aid. 

At the Donors’ Conference, the U.S. pledged $1.15 billion over two years in support of the action 

plan. As part of its pledge, the U.S. will explore opportunities to provide budget support to the 

Haitian government through a transparent and accountable facility, and to channel a portion of its 

resources to the trust fund.

U.S. support of the action plan will be guided in part by findings from a State Department 

review in 2009 of Haiti policies and programs. Among those findings were that U.S. assistance to 

Haiti of roughly $4 billion since 1990 has been spread across too many sectors, managed by large 

contractors with mixed results and budgets larger than many key Haitian ministries, and has had 

little lasting impact in improving Haitian lives. 

The U.S. approach will be based on pursuing opportunities as opposed to chasing needs. Consistent with Haitian government strategies, the U.S. sees significant opportunities in agriculture, 

manufacturing and tourism, particularly for job creation. It also sees considerable opportunities 

in decentralized growth, particularly through investment in ports, electricity and transportation 

infrastructure that serves the aforementioned growth poles. Haiti’s prospects for success will be 

enhanced if the catastrophic earthquake results in a departure from narrow politics and selfinterest toward a sustained and shared vision of development among Haitians, paralleled by a new 

outlook by the Haitian private sector as an engine of development that breaks with inefficient and 

past practices that lacked transparency. 

The U.S. believes it can best add value to Haiti’s recovery and development process by supporting five key areas:

•	 Expanding agriculture, infrastructure and ensuring food security by working with farmers to 

grow more, sell more and reduce dependence on imported food.

•	 Improving security by expanding the Haitian National Police; supporting improved corrections, a new criminal code and courts; and reducing the narcotics trade.

•	 Extending access to electricity and renewing the environment by restoring and expanding 

the electric grid, and growing the market for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cooking fuel to 

reduce charcoal demand.
© USIP 2010 • All rights reserved.

The International Donors’ Conference and Support for Haiti’s Future

page 3 • PB 26 • May 6, 2010

•	 Supporting sustainable healthcare, particularly to women and children, to limit the spread of 

infectious disease and strengthen Haiti’s public health delivery capabilities.

•	 Making strategic investments in governance and housing to include supporting elections, 

building capacity in central and local governance structures to enhance revenue collection 

capabilities and to help ensure the success of the recovery and development plan, and 

building homes in the new growth poles. 

This is a ‘defining moment’ in Haiti’s development, and for U.S. leadership and engagement. It affords an opportunity for the U.S. to engage a global consortium of donors and to work alongside a 

diverse array of actors, including Central and South American countries, who are robustly engaged 

in Haiti. It also provides opportunities for enhanced regional integration within the Caribbean. 

The Organization of American States 

Three principles will guide the engagement of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Haiti 

in the post-quake period. First, initiatives in support of Haiti’s recovery and development must be 

undertaken with Haitian leadership and the broad consensus of all Haitian stakeholders. Second, 

replication and duplication of efforts must be avoided. Third, partnership, not competition, is 

essential for moving forward.

The Organization of American States (OAS) will focus on governance, institution-building, and 

capacity-building. On the ground, this will translate into three operational areas: elections, the civil 

registry, and land titling. The OAS will focus much of its energy on working with the Haitian government to plan and organize parliamentary and local elections that were postponed following the 

earthquake and the presidential election planned for later this year. Considerable obstacles in the 

post-earthquake setting challenge the electoral process. Among them is the fact that many citizens 

lost their identification documents and some 700,000 former residents of the Port-au-Prince area 

are now dispersed throughout the country. There remains the need for consensus on how to move 

the political process forward. Ultimately, the decision resides with the Haitian government.

The ongoing OAS civil registry project will encompass all Haitians, including children, with 

the goal to achieve an inclusive national data base. Land titling is an important requirement for 

democratic and sustainable development. Currently only 5 percent of Haiti land is registered. The 

OAS will work towards achieving 100 percent of land titling over the next seven years.

Common Themes, Considerable Challenges

A common theme among external actors engaged in Haiti’s recovery and development is coordination in support of the action plan. Donors carry the responsibility of ensuring that the billions 

pledged materialize into available resources and that those resources are put to more effective use 

in achieving sustainable, inclusive and equitable development than they have been in the past. 

Stated intentions must be followed by actions, including those that can respond to the immediate 

needs of those precariously displaced by the natural disaster.

Within the framework of coordination, individual donors are challenged to focus their efforts on 

where they can best add value or where they have proven expertise. 

Coordination will put an end to a ‘pixie dust approach’ to development. There is an urgent need 

to build or reinforce public institutions and capabilities rather than working through independent 

structures parallel to government institutions. Significantly improved transparency and accountability in the allocation and management of resources by all actors is a sine qua non to a new 

Haiti, as is the provision of direct budgetary support in the short term to the cash-strapped Haitian 
© USIP 2010 • All rights reserved.

United States 

Institute of Peace

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About This Brief

This Peace Brief is based on a 

public panel presentation and 

meeting of USIP’s Haiti Working 

Group on April 8, 2010. The 

panel consisted of Organization 

of American States Assistant 

Secretary-General Albert Ramdin, 

State Representative Marie St. 

Fleur of Massachusetts, Meghann 

Curtis of the U.S. Department of 

State, and Kaign Christy of the 

International Justice Mission. 

Dr. Robert Maguire, associate 

professor at Trinity Washington 

University and chairman of USIP’s 

Haiti Working Group, served as 

moderator.

USIP provides the analysis, training and 

tools that prevent and end conflicts, 

promotes stability and professionalizes 

the field of peacebuilding.

For media inquiries, contact the office 

of Public Affairs and Communications, 

202.429.4725

government. And there is universal agreement that Haiti’s diaspora can—and should—be integral 

actors in the country’s renaissance. Among this diverse, large and talented constituency there is a 

genuine desire to help to do things differently, especially among the younger generations.

The complex nature of the reconstruction effort and the limited capacity of Haiti’s government 

will present considerable challenges for development efforts. Many public servants lost their lives 

in the earthquake; survivors suffered personal losses and trauma. A very real issue is the government’s ability to effectively absorb or manage the amount of aid pledged by the international 

community. During the process of building greater capacity among public institutions, transitional 

agencies such as the IHRC will play a critical role. Collaboration, partnership and coordination by 

all actors with Haitian authorities are essential elements of institution strengthening. The engagement of talent and expertise from within the diaspora should be a key element in strengthening 

public sector capacity. 

Both Haitian and non-Haitian actors face the challenge of balancing relief and development 

needs. Short-term crisis response should support the transition into longer-term development. 

Yet, there are urgent needs to address. Thousands are not receiving aid effectively and consistently. 

Women and children in encampments who are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence 

merit greater protection. Although police are now patrolling within the encampments, there is still 

no victim or witness protection program for those who report abuse. Effective action to combat 

trafficking of persons is hindered by the lack of legislation. The continued circulation among the 

general public of approximately 4,000 detainees who escaped incarceration after the earthquake, 

including gang leaders, may disrupt recovery and development efforts. At present, there is only 

one operating courthouse in Port-au-Prince. Meeting the immediate needs for citizen safety and 

rule of law must proceed concurrent with the longer-term development strategy for police, prisons 

and the judiciary.

As Haiti moves toward what is now envisaged as a better future, it is critically important that its 

government becomes more present in the lives of Haitian citizens as a visible provider of security, 

aid and social services. Without this essential achievement, citizens will become disenchanted with 

democratic process and prospects for Haiti’s recovery, development and long-term stability will 

darken. At the Donors’ Conference, the Haitian government effectively communicated its policies 

to the international community, which responded to them robustly. Today’s challenge is 

to translate that support into actions that result in improved lives for all Haitians.

The International Donors’ Conference and Support for Haiti’s Future

page 4 • PB 26 • May 6, 2010