MCC and Haitian Partner Advocate at the United Nations and in Washington

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By Kristen and Wawa Chege, Policy Analysts and Advocacy Coordinators, MCC Haiti

Photo – Advocacy in Washington, from left: Theo Sitther (MCC Washington DC), Jasmine Higgins (Church World Service), Kristen and Wawa Chege (MCC Haiti)

In June 2013, the MCC Haiti Advocacy staff traveled to New York and Washington DC to meet with key policy-makers regarding international efforts directly impacting Haiti.

Advocacy at the United Nations

Our advocacy in New York was targeted towards the United Nations who has continually renewed the mandate of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) since 2004. Several months after the deadly 2010 earthquake in Haiti, MINUSTAH was accused of bringing cholera to the island. All the evidence has pointed to a leak in a base ran by the Nepalese battalion of the UN peacekeeping forces on a tributary of the Artibonite River – the breadbasket for the country.  For the last three years, Haitians have not only struggled to rebuild their country from the devastation of the earthquake, but were then forced to contend with the additional death and disease that has resulted from this cholera epidemic.

River in Haiti where cholera possibly spread

Our goal for the meetings with United Nations country missions was to request that the UN fund the National Plan for the Elimination of Cholera Elimination in Haiti, written more than a year ago by PAHO, UNICEF, CDC in collaboration with the governments of Haiti and the DR. To date, only 10% of the plan has been funded, and the UN has been silent regarding their plans for remaining $2.2 billion plan. Meanwhile, the occurrence levels have grown to the point where more than half of the world’s cholera cases can now be found in Haiti alone.  And still, as the BBC reports, the cholera response in Haiti remains woefully underfunded.

Haitian Lawyer Speaks at UN 

We were accompanied by a Haitian partner, Patrice Florvilus, the director of a Haitian pro-bono lawyer’s organization, Defenders of the Oppressed (DOP). Commonly known as “Met Patrice” by his clients, our Haitian counterpart eloquently shared about the damage that cholera has caused in his home country.  He made a direct correlation between MINUSTAH’s responsibility for the epidemic and the current unpopularity for the forces and unrest in the country.  Through the combined efforts of MCC and other organizations involved in the cholera advocacy campaign, we were able to gain some traction in the advocacy for the eradication the destructive disease.

Wiltord and his son had cholera – read how it has changed their lives at the link to the right

More information on the context of cholera in Haiti can be found in the MCC Haiti Cholera brief.  The impact of the disease on Haitians is also depicted in the personal stories of Wiltord and Yrlande.

Advocacy in Washington DC

After our time in New York, we moved on to further advocacy on The Hill with the MCC DC policy office, focusing on the need for a long-term approach to housing for the most vulnerable in Haiti. During our time there, we met with four Congressional offices as well as the State Department.

A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on USAID and State Department’s work in Haiti has shown what we already suspected – housing efforts have been piece-meal projects that lack a clear strategy and have done little to ameliorate the housing crisis. With 320,000 people still living in tent camps and many of these under threat of forced eviction, it is clear that a more comprehensive approach to housing is vital if there are to be any real improvements in this sector.  USAID’s goal to build 15,000 permanent houses for approximately 90,000 Haitians fell flat when they had to cut that number by 85% to only 2,649 permanent homes for 15,900 people after realizing they had underestimated the costs.  These funds had already been raised from $59 million to $97million.  At this rate, the average cost averaged out to about $36,000 per house.

Better Use of Haiti Aid Funds

Our goal on The Hill was also to call for support of the Assessing Progress in Haiti Act (H.R. 1749), asking for better disclosure of information regarding US government spending in Haiti. The level of transparency required to make earthquake response information accessible is greatly lacking and something that our Haitian partners have highlighted as a clear need.  Given the billions of dollars of aid money which have been spent over the last three years in Haiti, our partners confide that they see few indicators of real change to show for it.

It was very rewarding to see our research and local advocacy efforts from the past two years pay-off with these visits in the States. It was an honor to bring the voices of Haitians with us to these meetings, sharing stories from victims of cholera, quoting from focus groups and meetings with Haitian partner organizations, and trying to paint a broader picture for members of congress and the UN missions regarding the context in Haiti.