Is aid getting there?

Rick Perera, Emergency team member
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
January 17, 2010

I keep hearing the same question from journalists: why isn’t aid getting to these desperate people faster? The answer is: aid workers are moving as fast as they can, but the conditions are grim. Haiti has never seen a catastrophe of this magnitude in modern times; it was already desperately poor to begin with; and in the aftermath of so many disasters in recent years, the people and infrastructure were utterly unprepared to cope.

“It’s always very difficult in the first few days,” says CARE Haiti Country Director Sophie Perez, who has worked on multiple relief efforts in Haiti, including the aftermath of hurricanes and political unrest. “It’s important not just to get it fast, but to get it right. If we just hand out material without the proper organization, it can result in chaos, violence, and loss of life.”

Sophie is confident that, with enough resources and coordination, CARE and other humanitarian actors will be able to reach those in need with urgent help. But she’s concerned about the longer term. “What will happen when the media attention turns away?” It will take years for Haitians to recover – and they will need much support if they are to build back better, instead of recreating conditions leaving them vulnerable to future disasters.

Reconstruction means not just rebuilding infrastructure, she adds – but addressing the underlying causes of poverty, from poor governance to education to environmental degradation. CARE has been working in Haiti since 1954, and is committed to staying as long as we’re needed.

“The longer term will cost a thousand times more than the immediate relief,” she says. “I sincerely hope the world won’t forget Haiti once the initial attention fades.”