Jessica Obert

In the New Humanitarian, Jessica Obert writes that Haiti never fully recovered from the earthuqake let alone cholera, political instability, and subsequent natural disasters.  While Haitians themselves are resilient their government and the systems that are supposed to be in place to ensue their health, safety, and well being are not.   Haiti's ever-fragile economy had already contracted 1.2 percent last year due to protests and the pandemic could result in a contraction of 2.7 percent this year according to the Haitian Ministry of Finance.  Physcial distancing does not work well in settings where people are living day to day due to economic hardship.  If there are positives, Haiti's population is younger and it has a history of working together with the Dominican Republic on infectious diseases.  As with other countries, Haiti will be living with the pandemic for a long time to come.

Ten years after the earthquake, and despite billions of dollars in assistance, hunger is a growing problem in Haiti.  Food insecurity has been made worse by political instability and its root cause, corruption.  Up to four million people are now facing severe hunger due to the downturn of an already weak economy and inflation.  Hunger undermines nutrition, health, education, and stability, and economic development or, in other words, the future.  Humanitarian responders like the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) can provide food to the most vulnerable - but they can't fix the underlying problems.  This depends upon the Haitian people having an accountable, effective government that represents the interests of the many instead of the few.  An article by Jassica Obert in The New Humanitarian about food insecurity in Haiti follows.