Last Thursday, Development and Peace had the privilege of participating in a conference entitled Haïti: analyse et perspectives de l’aide (Haiti: analysis and perspectives on aid) organized by the Concertation pour Haïti (CPH), a network of organizations working in Haiti that includes Development and Peace. The conference provided an opportunity to continue reflecting on and to establish an analysis of how reconstruction is progressing.
Presentations by Paul Cliche, associate researcher with the Réseau d'études des dynamiques transnationales et de l'action collective (Study Network of Transnational Dynamics and Collective Action, or REDTAC) at the Université de Montréal, and Fraser Reilly-King, a policy analyst with the Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC), were very thought-provoking in this regard. Both of them noted that despite ongoing reconstruction efforts, the situation in Haiti remains critical, especially in key areas, such as housing and the struggle against the cholera epidemic.
One of the main concerns raised at the conference is how the international community is having difficulty implementing sustainable solutions and including local actors at all levels in the reconstruction process. Jean-Claude Jean, Office Manager for Development and Peace in Haiti, was among the panelists. Most notably, he pointed out that, “Civil society in Haiti has managed, over the last 30 years, to be an agent for progress in the country, despite the disruptions it has experienced. The issue of reorganizing international aid, especially Canadian aid, must take the matter of local actors into account. We have to continue to lobby in favour of inclusive development, in other words, a process that includes all local actors, both Haitians and those representing the state.”
Here are some photos of the conference: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjYLR5VF