The National Disaster Risk Management System (NDRMS) in Haiti has been established by the Government of Haiti (GoH) with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The NDRMS is headed by the Civil Protection Directorate (DPC), which serves as the executive secretariat. USAID has provided funding and technical assistance to support the development of the NDRMS since its inception in 1999.
USAID/OFDA has a regional advisor based in Haiti who has been assisting with preparations for the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season. In January 2009, a local disaster risk management specialist was hired to work with the GoH and USAID/OFDA staff to assess disaster response needs and design programs to address these needs. The USAID/OFDA regional advisor also served as the leader of the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) in Haiti from September to December 2008.
The USAID/OFDA regional advisor has been working with USAID/Haiti technical staff to develop complementary disaster risk reduction activities for ongoing USAID/Haiti programming. This includes activities in education, justice, democracy, and governance, economic growth and the environment, and food security and humanitarian assistance. The USAID/OFDA regional advisor continues to provide technical assistance to the GoH NDRMS in developing and implementing the DPC’s preparedness strategy and contingency plan.
A cadre of trainers who received training under USAID/OFDA’s training program, in conjunction with the GoH, U.N., and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, will continue to replicate this training in each of Haiti’s 10 departments. USAID/OFDA staff have also worked closely with the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to establish a consultative mechanism for requesting DoD assets, should the GoH and the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) signal the need for logistical support in disaster responses.
USAID/OFDA has procured disaster response materials for both the DPC and the Haitian Red Cross in advance of the current hurricane season. Beginning in September 2009, USAID/OFDA is supporting the American Red Cross, Save the Children, and the Pan American Development Foundation in implementing community-based disaster risk reduction activities that complement ongoing USAID programming. These activities include enhancing the capacity of two communities in Haiti to prepare for, mitigate, and respond to the adverse effects of climate change and disasters.
In addition, USAID/OFDA staff in Haiti continue to assist with the design and development of USAID/Haiti disaster preparedness, risk reduction, and mitigation activities. USAID/OFDA has also designed and facilitated the after-action review process of the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince in response to the 2008 storms response and school collapse, providing significant support to help revise and enhance the U.S. Embassy’s mission disaster relief plan. With funding from USAID’s Office of Food for Peace, FEWS NET and U.S. Government employees are continuing to investigate ways to use global climate information to mitigate potential disasters, including food production shortfalls.
The total USAID/OFDA humanitarian assistance to Haiti from FY 2006 to FY 2009 is $15,667,736. This includes $1,100,045 in preparedness and mitigation funding and $14,567,691 in disaster response funding. USAID/OFDA has provided more than $5.2 million in humanitarian assistance to populations affected by Hurricane Gustav and a school collapse in FY 2009. In FY 2008, USAID/OFDA provided a total of more than $9.2 million in humanitarian assistance and deployed an assessment team and a USAID/DART to monitor humanitarian conditions and coordinate with the GoH and relief agencies.