Haiti is often depicted as a disaster-stricken country, plagued with political instability, violence and poverty, suffering from recurring natural hazards such as cyclones and earthquakes. In fact, this is usually the only thing people know about Haiti.
All of this is true, but Haiti is much more than that. Beyond the many challenges, Haiti is a beautiful country with a unique history and incredibly resilient people. Our people led the first successful slave revolt more than 200 years ago. Forced on their knees countless times, they have always gotten back up. Our biodiversity is one of the richest in the Caribbean. Our culture, at the intersection of African, Taino and European heritages, is extremely diverse.
Also defying usual misconceptions, our private sector is dynamic, innovative and resilient. Local businesses in Haiti are stepping up to build disaster resilience and help communities address the impacts of disasters from earthquakes to the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Here is how.
As the Executive Director of the Alliance for Risk Management and Business Continuity (l’Alliance pour la Gestion des Risques et la Continuité des Activités, AGERCA), I have seen first-hand the importance of investing in disaster risk reduction. Our independent non-governmental organization (NGO) was created in 2008 as a platform for the Haitian private sector to support the national system for risk and disaster management, and to enable businesses of all sizes to recover quickly and build forward better from crises.
So yes, Haiti is particularly prone to disasters. Its geographical location (in the middle of the hurricane belt), combined with environmental challenges (high levels of deforestation), population density (particularly on the exposed coastlines), weak institutions and infrastructure (lack of healthcare centres, evacuation shelters or urban planning), makes it a high-risk country. In fact, it is estimated that 96% of the population is exposed to at least two different hazards, such as hurricanes, flooding, and earthquakes. Local businesses, as part and parcel of the Haitian community, are heavily impacted by disasters. Their inability to operate, in return, prevents the community from recovering quickly.
That is why at AGERCA, we work daily to build a resilient community. We coordinate our private sector members to strengthen disaster risk reduction and coordinate response actions by the private sector and civil society in the event of a crisis or natural hazard.
What does that mean concretely on the ground? First, we focus on disaster preparedness. Our volunteers engage regularly with the private sector and local communities to organizing disaster simulation exercises or training sessions. We also lead awareness raising campaigns about disaster risks, sharing weather alerts and early warning messages on social media. We support companies to set up business continuity and evacuation plans. We have recently empowered 40 trainers to reach 180 schools with school safety training and trained schools directors to put in place school safety and security plans. Every year, we organize a two-day youth workshop for hundreds participants about disaster risk management and best practices. We help companies set up business continuity and evacuation plans. We have partnered with a local telecommunication company to share weather information and alerts through SMS. We have advocated for international to purchase locally sourced products and services where possible to avoid market disruptions and to support the local economy.
In addition to preparedness activities, we are particularly active during disasters. As the official representative of the private sector sector within the Haitian National System for Risk and Disaster Management, we coordinate private sector contributions when a crisis occur, through financial or in-kind contributions, and service provision.
In response to Tropical Storm Laura in August 2020, AGERCA helped in sending out more than two million early warning text messages to the population and in providing phone credit to the National Emergency Operations Center to facilitate communications between departments. We also liaised with telecommunications companies to ensure their networks were active in the affected areas.
Recently, our country was struck by a devastating earthquake. On 14 August, a powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit the south-western region, affecting at least 800,000 people, and resulting in the death of more than 2,240 people. The earthquake was quickly followed by a powerful hurricane, hindering the response. AGERCA facilitated the provision of phone credits to support information management and deployed a staff member to the affected area to help coordinate efforts on the ground. We helped open 65 cellphone lines with unlimited calls and data for the members of the National and locals Emergency Centres, and provided phone credits to local leaders. We provided financial support to over 320 farmers in the affected communities and trained over 100 people in the southern region on early warning systems. In addition to financial contributions, AGERCA member companies and partners made in-kind donations of critical items including thousands of gallons potable water, clothes, food, hygiene kits and solar-powered refrigerators. Afterwards, AGERCA conducted two studies, on the impact of the earthquake on micro, small and medium-sized entreprises (MSMEs) and the agricultural sector. In total, local business contributions, both in-cash and in-kind, amounted to hundreds of thousands of United States dollars.
We were – and we are still very much - heavily involved in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, with our members and the support from the United Nations Connecting Business initiative, we helped distribute personal protective equipment, and participated in public awareness campaigns. We focused our intervention in the areas of Onaville and Canaan, in the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, where communities displaced since the 2010 earthquake are still living in makeshift settlements. To address their needs, we distributed food and hygiene kits, disinfected facilities such as schools and churches, set up handwashing stations in public places and trained people on the importance of COVID-19 mitigation measures.
I’m proud to say that we are able to make a significant impact on the ground for the communities we serve, despite our limited capacities. Our partnership with the Connecting Business initiative (CBi), a United Nations (UN) initiative jointly managed by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), helps us build our response capacities and connect with other business federations around the world operating in similar environments. Their approach helps us coordinate private sector contributions with the humanitarian country team and international partners.
Looking ahead, we hope to strengthen our organization so we can deploy rapidly in times of crises and effectively support local businesses. We hope to help build a resilient Haiti, so that our country makes the headlines not for its many disasters, but its riches and wonders.