Why Monetary Aid Will Not Solve the Haitian Crisis

By George Tsimis, We Kids Chronicles

Bulldozer clears the rubble of a building that collapsed in the earthquake in Brefet, a neighborhood of Les Cayes, Haiti, on August 17, 2021.

Credit: Reginald Louissaint, Jr. Getty Images

   It comes as no surprise that in recent years, following the 2010 earthquake, Haiti is a country that more than ever needs external aid to support its healthcare system. Looking at the statistics alone, Haiti has only 0.3 dispensaries per 10,000 inhabitants and only 1.2 health centers per 30,000 inhabitants, both of which are extremely low compared to other countries[1]. In addition to a low availability of healthcare, the healthcare that is available in the country is hardly up to modern standards[1]. Furthermore, despite Haitian healthcare improving since the 1990s Haiti still has one of the highest infant mortality and lowest vaccination rates in the world[1]. In the current day, these problems are only further exacerbated by the rise of organized crime throughout the country, displacing large sums of the population and denying them access to already sparse essential needs and services[2]. We can see this issue evidenced in a press release by USAID, stating that in just the past month (starting February 29th of 2024), rising gang violence in the country has led to the halting of external humanitarian operations[2]. With a low availability of healthcare, subpar standards for existing care, and presence of internal conflict within Haiti all in conjunction with the existing crisis still being recovered from, modern day Haiti has become reliant on aid to meet the needs of its citizens. In fact, USAID covers about 25% of the total healthcare spending in Haiti[3]. 

American aid

   In accordance with these issues, major powers like the United States have been diligent in providing aid to Haiti. In 2023 alone, the United States has provided the country with over $110 million dollars of aid aimed at promoting life-saving humanitarian assistance[2]. Once again, within just the last month, the US has further pledged an additional 33 million dollars towards providing humanitarian aid to Haiti[2]. However, the aid does not stop at humanitarian support. For instance, the US has provided over 312 million dollars towards strengthening law enforcement, 3 million dollars to help uphold democracy in elections, along with aid from their Department of Justice to investigate terrorism in Haiti[3]. All in all, the US has provided over 5.1 billion dollars in total to Haiti in just the past 10 years alone, with a focus on improving access to healthcare, nutrition, vaccination rates, medical training, and infrastructure[3]. Yet despite all these efforts, in addition to help from other countries, Haiti still remains a country with inadequate healthcare plagued by political unrest. This begs the question of why, despite all this aid, is Haiti still unable to support itself? The answer lies in mismanagement and dependency.

Haiti 2021 © Steven Aristil/MSF

Why is the aid not working?

   Given Haiti’s political instability, coupled with the fact that most of the aid it recieves is aimed at providing short term relief, it is unsurprising that it is unable to stand on its own two feet. Despite large sums of money being donated to Haiti, the country lacks the proper infrastructure and donor coordination to properly utilize it[1]. This results in large sums of monetary donations either going missing or being used to solve other, potentially more urgent matters at the time. This creates a situation where only the most pressing, short term issues are being addressed, when in reality, the country needs help with longer lasting solutions. 

   However, as mentioned before, the US is providing aid aimed at building this infrastructure as seen with the creation of new hospitals and doctor training, so what gives?[3]. Is such mismanagement of resources unique to Haiti, or are there other factors at work? The answer to these questions are outlined in an article released by Lehigh University, which states that providing aid to countries in need causes those countries to become excessively dependent on it, diminishing their own ability to provide for themselves[4]. Additionally, though providing humanitarian aid is no doubt imperative in saving lives, it also serves as a way for rich countries to gain power over less developed countries and increase their own profits. For instance, developing countries like Nigeria have their capital flight industry exploited by the upper class who abuse their tax laws and lax security to smuggle goods outside of the country while avoiding taxes[5]. When looking at the statistics, in the year 2012, 1.3 trillion dollars that was donated to developing countries ended up producing nearly 3.3 trillion dollars for those donating[5]. Furthermore, for every dollar developing countries receive, they lose about 24 dollars in return through processes like these[5]. Here, we come to understand that there is actually an incentive for larger countries to keep developing countries in “development”, so that they can maximize their own profits. 

   Returning to the earlier point, countries like the US, while they do provide a lot of money in aid to countries like Haiti, none of it actually goes to supporting operations that will guarantee the country’s long term success. For example, donating basic supplies like shoes and medication are definitely helpful short term, they don’t help to promote Haitian Industries as the resources are sourced from other countries nor do they lay the framework for future growth. To elaborate, if the US donates money to vaccinate the entire Haitian population, yet doesn’t actually teach them skills to source vaccines or vaccinate themselves, Haiti will again be dependent on the US for help with vaccinations by the time the next generation rolls around. While it’s hard to deny that the US is helping Haiti, there are also clear incentives to keep Haiti in a perpetual state of “development” by providing ineffective “long term” aid so that the country can be used for profit. Furthermore, even though it is true that the US is providing aid aimed at training doctors and building new hospitals, it’s hard to even gauge where that money ends up, and it oftentimes ends up in the hands of the developing country’s upper class, never to be used as intended[4]. 

A solution

   This issue can best be solved by organizations like We Kids, which aim to provide Haitians with not only the infrastructure, but also the meaningful skills needed for them to take care of themselves. Specifically, our organization is working to provide training for Haitian physicians through our co-Chief Medical Advisor, along with his team of certified US medical instructors. As an independent organization not affiliated with any major government, We Kids is not susceptible to corruption or ulterior political motives, and our team is truly dedicated towards making a change. If you wish to make a positive change, consider donating to the following link: https://www.wekids-haiti.com/donor-box 

[1] World Bank 

[2] USAID

[3] The White House

[4] Lehigh University

[5] The Guardian