Earthquake commemoration, 12 January 2012

Our thoughts on this day go out to the victims of the 2010 earthquake and their loved ones, as well as those struggling to rebuild shattered lives in the harshest of circumstances.
They also go out to those fighting for a better future for their country, despite the betrayals, lies and broken promises.

Mourn the dead, Fight for the living! 

Haiti by the Numbers, Three Years Later

Some of the shocking facts of three years of reconstruction failure have just been published by CEPR:

• Number of people killed in the earthquake in 2010: over 217,300
• Number of people killed by cholera epidemic caused by U.N. troops since October 19, 2010: over 7,912 [i]
• Number of cholera cases worldwide in 2010 and 2011: 906,632
• Percent of worldwide cholera cases that were in Haiti in those years: 57
• Total number of cholera cases in Haiti from 2010-2012: 635,980 [ii]
• Days Since Cholera Was Introduced in Haiti Without an Apology From the U.N.: 813
• Percent of the population that lacks access to “improved” drinking water: 42
• Funding needed for U.N./CDC/Haitian government 10-year cholera eradication plan: $2.2 billion
• Percent of $2.2 billion which the U.N. pledged to provide: 1
• Percent of $2.2 billion that the U.N. has spent on MINUSTAH[iii] since the earthquake: 87

• Amount disbursed by bilateral and multilateral donors to Haiti from 2010-2012: $6.43 billion
• Percent that went through the Haitian government: 9
• Amount the Haitian government has received in budget support over this time: $302.69 million
• Amount the American Red Cross raised for Haiti: $486 million
• Amount of budget support to the Haitian government in 2009, the year before the earthquake: $93.60 million
• Amount of budget support to the Haitian government in 2011, the year after the earthquake: $67.93 million
• Number of dollars, out of every $100 spent in humanitarian relief, that went to the Haitian government: 1
• Value of all contracts awarded by USAID since the earthquake: $485.5 million [iv]
• Percent of contracts that has gone to local Haitian firms: 1.2 [v]
• Percent of contracts that has gone to firms inside the beltway (DC, Maryland, Virginia): 67.6 [vi]
• Number of people displaced from their homes by the earthquake: 1.5 million
• Number of people still in displaced persons camps today: 358,000
• Percent that have left camps due to relocation programs by the Haitian government and international agencies: 25
• Share of camp residents facing a constant threat of forced eviction: 1 in 5
• Number of transitional shelters built by aid agencies since the earthquake: 110,964
• Percent of transitional shelters that went to camp residents: 23
• Number of new houses constructed since the earthquake: 5,911
• Number of houses marked “red”, meaning they were in need of demolition: 100,178
• Number of houses marked “yellow”, meaning they were in need of repairs to make safe enough to live in: 146,004
• Estimated number of people living in houses marked either “yellow” or “red”: 1 million
• Number of houses that have actually been repaired: 18,725
• Percent growth of the Haitian economy (GDP) in 2012, predicted by the IMF in April 2011: 8.8
• Actual percent growth of the Haitian economy (GDP) in 2012: 2.5
• U.N. Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) funding appeal for 2013: $144 million
• Percent of last year’s OCHA appeal that was actually funded: 40
• Funding committed by the U.S. Government for the Caracol industrial park: $124 million
• Share of U.S. funds earmarked for “reconstruction” that this represents: 1/4th
• Cost of building 750 houses near the Caracol park for workers: $20 million
• Cost of building 86-100 houses for U.S. Embassy staff: $85 – 100 million
• Share of garment factories in Haiti found to be out of compliance with minimum wage requirements: 21 of 22
• Number of garment factories that have lost preferential tariff benefits to the U.S. because of labor violations:

[i] According to the Haitian Ministry of Health, based on reported cases. The actual number is probably much higher.

[ii] According to the Haitian Ministry of Health, based on reported cases. The actual number is probably much higher.

[iii] The U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti, comprised mostly of military troops and police officers. U.N. troops were responsible for causing the cholera epidemic, according to scientific studies.

[iv] Authors’ calculations based on information in Federal Procurement Data System.

[v] Ibid.

[vi] Ibid.