Observatory on Public Policies and on International Cooperation - A General Overview of Development Assistance for Haiti

For several years, the impact of foreign aid on Haiti’s deve- lopment has been questioned. Following the earthquake of 12 January 2010, international donors multiplied their pled- ges in order to respond to the emergency (“humanitarian aid”) as well as to support the recovery and long-term deve- lopment of the country. More than US$ 13 billion was pro- mised for the period of 2010 - 2020 and significant sums have already been disbursed (OSE, 2012)1.
Official development assistance consists of donations and certain loans (at concessional terms) from the public sector with the purpose of promoting the economic development and welfare of a given country1. Thus, in official aid statis- tics, neither private donations (at least US$ 3 billion worth of private donations were traced after the seism) nor mili- tary spending are included.