Priorities, Alignment & Leadership: Improving United States’ Aid Effectiveness in Haiti

Abstract

This article discusses U.S. aid policy towards Haiti, in the post-earthquake period. Haiti was a high-priority item in the first term of Barack Obama’s presidency. An initial review found a number of deficiencies in previous aid efforts towards Haiti, and a different approach was recommended and put on the table by the new USAID Administrator. In the context of the change of government from the Preval to the Martelly administration, a number of cooperation projects are assessed. A critical question is the degree to which the Haitian state is capable of taking ownership of these projects, or whether they will continue to be outsourced to NGOs. Special attention is paid to the sort of leadership exercised on this issue by the Martelly government.

Keywords

• USAID
• NGO
• development
• international cooperation
• international aid