Haiti: USAID Program Profile
| Budget |
FY 2005
Actual
|
FY 2006
Current
|
FY 2007
Requested
|
| Total Program Funds |
$192,904,000* |
$154,765,000
|
$147,737,000 |
* Includes $34,081,000 for Hurricane Relief and $20,000,000
ESF Supplemental
The United States Agency for International Development’s
(USAID) primary objective in Haiti for the next three years
is to help meet the basic needs of the Haitian people. Instability
continues in the country since the civil unrest in 2004 brought
about a change in government. USAID has worked closely with
other international donors to support the recent elections
in the country. USAID has also continued to support a wide
variety of programs in the country to meet needs which include
better education and healthcare; more jobs and economic opportunities;
greater access to equitably applied justice; humanitarian
assistance; and institutions capable of providing these basic
needs.
Democracy, Governance and Stabilization: The first
round of Haitian presidential elections was held on February
7, 2006. USAID, in collaboration the OAS and United Nations,
dedicated over $31 million for direct elections support, political
party strengthening, election observations, assistance to
the Haitian election commission for the dissemination of election
information, voter education and public opinion polls, and
journalist training. Following the elections, USAID is planning
to engage in a program with the Haitian Parliament (which
has not been in session for the past two and half years),
and strengthen capabilities of local governments. Programs
will seek to strengthen local level institutions and encourage
participatory democracy as a counterbalance to centralized
patronage politics and gangs. The local governance program
will be carried out in conjunction with continued stabilization
activities, including short-term job creation activities which
also provide useful public works and a monthly source of income
to Haiti’s poorest citizens. USAID will continue to
work with populations vulnerable to conflict and violence,
particularly out-of-school youth, in marginalized urban areas
in and outside of Port-au-Prince with high levels of gang
violence and in rural areas with high youth unemployment.
The program encourages citizen participation and will work
with local government officials in activity selection and
monitoring.
USAID supports justice reform and improving the delivery of
legal services to the Haitian population by training judges,
prosecutors, and clerks to improve management skills, increase
efficiency, and reduce pre-trial detention. USAID continues
to promote democracy and empower elements of Haitian society
by strengthening the independent media; helping civil society
organizations and public sector officials in the fight against
corruption; and protecting human rights, including victims
of organized violence and children in domesticity.
Economic Growth: USAID interventions in agriculture
are helping farmers to improve market linkages for traditional
crops such as mangos, cacao and coffee, for non-traditional
crops such as yams and peppers, and for non-agricultural sectors
such as handicrafts thereby increasing incomes for small farmers
and micro entrepreneurs. Many of these programs have the additional
benefit of introducing better natural resource management
techniques which help prevent further degradation of the country’s
hillsides. USAID continues to develop viable, self-sustaining
credit systems for micro-entrepreneurs which are critical
to income growth of the poor. USAID is also initiating activities
to improve the enabling
environment for private sector competitiveness and investment
by strengthening such key associations as the Chamber of Commerce
and the Manufactures’ Association.
Education: USAID assistance in education focuses on
improving the quality of primary education through upgrading
the skills of teachers and school directors, providing materials
and equipment, and strengthening local organizations, schools,
and parent/teacher associations. USAID programs target the
expansion and improvement of the quality of primary-level
education. Programs for out-of-school youth, estimated at
more than 50% of the population aged 15-20, help them obtain
basic education and job skills training. USAID is also developing
a program to respond to high-priority workforce needs through
partnering with US universities.
Health Program: USAID has built a network of approximately
thirty local service providers to deliver basic primary care
and child survival services. USAID’s health program
has resulted in over 95% of children fully immunized in target
areas which include over one-third of the population. Health
programs include child immunization; respiratory infection
detection and treatment; immunizations for pregnant women,
nutrition, food supplementation, and growth monitoring; family
planning; maternal health care; prevention and treatment of
HIV/AIDS (including mother-to-child transmission prevention)
and other sexually transmitted disease; and tuberculosis detection
and treatment. A new focus of the program promotes strengthened
coordination of the local service provider network and a more
pro-active role for a decentralized Ministry of Health in
providing technical oversight.
Food Aid: Over the past four decades, the PL 480 food
aid program has been one of the most consistent humanitarian
responses to socio-economic and political upheavals in Haiti.
The program works through four partner organizations (CARE,
SOS, WVI, CRA) and supports populations at risk through supplemental
feeding activities and income generating activities for vulnerable
groups.
Disaster Reconstruction and Recovery: Following the
emergency relief provided by the US Government in response
to the severe flooding that accompanied Tropical Storm Jeanne
in September 2004, USAID initiated reconstruction activities
in Gonaïves and the surrounding areas. Activities aim
to restore infrastructure and livelihoods; rehabilitate areas
of farm pasture and hillside lands to productivity; and better
protect against future flooding through drainage improvements
and the rehabilitation of canals.
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