We all know that Haiti once had a tourism industry...before the HIV/AIDS scare, several coup d'etats, and the kidnapping crisis. The much more difficult questions concern whether Haiti could/will have one again and whether time spent in this sector would be better spent on infrastructure, education, etc.
Haiti is a proud member of what is still a fairly small club - countries with generalized HIV/AIDS epidemics that have been able to not only halt it, but reverse it. This is not a fluke - the involvement of the Haitan civil society, government, and the support of the international community has made a measurable difference. Their successes in treatment have been applied in other countries such as Rwanda, Lesotho, and Malawi. Success can be contagious, and Haiti's results have inspired other countries.
David Caprara and Robert Mallet, both associated with the Brookings Institute recently wrote an short and interesting article about Corporate Philanthropy 2.0 which you can read here.
On Monday, December 3rd, representatives from 180 countries will convene in Bali, Indonesia for the 13th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 3rd Meeting of the Parties (MOP) of the Kyoto Protocol. And this means what...?
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has recently released its annual development report. The focus this year is on climate change. Two countries are frequently raised as cautionary tales thoughout the report - Bangladesh and Haiti.
According to the United Nations Environmental Program, more than one billion trees were planted worldwide. Mexico and Ethiopia led the way. Ethiopia, not exactly a model of good governance, illustrates that when a government has the political will and when communities are aware of the importance of the environment, motivated to preserve it, and the resources to do it, social change can happen rapidly.
What is happening in Haiti? Why is our economy getting worse every day? Why can’t we resolve basic issues and end poverty? I am still amazed to hear from family members that there are frequent periods without electricity that last more than a week! Can’t our government realize that is a terrible loss for a developing country? What has been done to resolve the problem of electricity?
In an announcement on November 19th, the Peace Corps stated that it would bolster the already existing Crisis Corps and rename it "Peace Corps Response" to reflect its increased breadth and depth. Most are familiar with Peace Corps, but less have heard of the Crisis Corps. The Crisis Corps was a mechanism through which returned volunteers could serve abroad for a period of several months to a year.
When we write about China, it usually involves whether the government will protest renewal of MINUSTAH's mandate as a result of Haiti's pro Taiwan stance. But let us give credit where credit is due. China has provided well trained, and much needed, peacekeepers for the Haiti Mission. In fact, soon China will deploy its sixth team of 125 specially trained riot police.
As World AIDS Day fast approaches, now is a good time for us to pause and reflect what has been accomplished in 2007, what we've learned, and what still needs to be done.
