Rebuilding Haiti

Building Back Better

Two years after the devastating earthquake of 12 January, 2010, Haiti continues to draw on its resources to recover.

The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) mission in Haiti is to support and build capacities for the government, the private sector and those of the communities to better prepare the country’s future. It also supports programmes for the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, and has worked to enhance environmental protection in Haiti through initiatives aimed at watershed management, reforestation and renewable energy promotion.

The recovery phase will take many years, but numerous results have already been observed on the ground over the past 12 months: 50 percent of the debris removed, more than 300,000 jobs created, 60 percent of TB patients cured, 400 hectares of land reforested and 2,000 metres of gabion walls erected.

2012 in Brief

Recovery and poverty reduction

In 2012 UNDP will support initiatives that encourage the return of displaced persons to their neighbourhoods of origin, such as the development of micro-businesses, improving services and public spaces as well as assistance in repairing and constructing houses. In the longer term, UNDP will double its efforts in creating jobs. 

Democratic governance

UNDP will continue its investments in capacity building management for Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council. Activities will also focus on the mechanisms of electoral crisis prevention and management, and on measures and practices to mitigate the risk of violence. As part of strengthening the rule of law in Haiti, UNDP will help strengthen the Court of Cassation (court of final appeal) and the creation of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary Branch.

Disaster risk reduction

UNDP will continue to work with the Haitian government, including the Directorate of Civil Protection (DCP), to strengthen its National Disaster Risk Management System and implement an infrastructure best suited to move away from emergency scenarios and towards sustainable development. Work will focus on capacity building in disaster preparation, mitigation and on the response of the DPC in emergency situations.

Environmental protection

Environmental protection efforts will be intensified through two bi-national projects with the Dominican Republic, whose aim is to increase forest cover along the entire border. In addition, UNDP has just launched a major climate change programme aimed at putting pilot emergency adaptation measures in place by 2015.

Fight against HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis

As part of the Global Fund programme, UNDP will work on improving the capacity of its partners, and will continue mobilising efforts to attract new funding in the fight against HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.