Public-Private Partnerships for Sustainable Development

Two weeks ago I traveled by road to Haiti from Santo Domingo, D.R., with Dominican and American colleagues.  The purpose was to review local conditions, seek opportunities for establishing small and medium enterprises, and to collaborate with Haitian-American colleagues, Haitians, Dominicans and others to help rebuild the devastated infrastructure and livelihoods.   Before traveling I met with people from the World Food Program and the UN High Commission for Refugees.

Map of Haiti

Our focus would be on Jacmel, on the southern coast, in collaboration with the Haitian-American investment group Société Immobilière de Agriculture, Commerce et Tourisme, Inc., (SImACT) .  Our team identified priorities and made initial preparations for a workshop on investment and commerce to revive Southern Haiti.  This is scheduled to take place in Jacmel in late June.      

En route we visited tent camps near the border and encountered the diversity of conditions we would see throughout the trip.   One camp dealing with post-operative care was well-equipped by Harvard University and USAID.   Another, for displaced families, run by the American Refugee Committee and assisted by UNICEF, was more basic.   A third was “do-it-yourself.”  

I wanted to learn how people were faring.   I was interested in how people were cooking their meals, and confirmed charcoal and wood had become more scarce and more expensive since the earthquake. I explained that one of our concerns was to promote better, clean cookstoves and ethanol fuel.  The ARC camp supervisor was delighted and the woman below gave me permission to take this photo of her using a charcoal stove.

Woman cooking on a charcoal stove

We traveled to Port-au-Prince, Leogane and Jacmel.  Many people remained in great distress; others at first sight appeared to be going about their daily lives.   In some cases destroyed and intact buildings were side-by-side.  One could see tents in front of houses and encampments in schoolyards, churchyards and public sites.  There were still people with little shelter from sun and rain – sometimes a bedsheet attached to sticks.  

Parts of Port-au-Prince were untouched; other parts were devastated.  The image of the demolished Presidential palace has become known worldwide.  Leogâne, with a population of about 150,000, suffered heavily.  Much was destroyed. Jacmel had been cut off by mountain landslides.  The route was reopened but still vulnerable in the coming rainy season.

Maternity Ward at Jacmel Hospital reduced to rubble

The charming port town of Jacmel, with a population of about 50,000, had been damaged.  Its hospital had been destroyed.  Sections of town had been flattened.  But we could also see early possibilities for economic and social reconstruction.  With the national policy focus on decentralization and the international attention coming to Haiti for rebuilding, we felt that Jacmel could be a center for recovery and improvement.   Jacmel has been known as a site for Haitian tourism and the arts.  Its historic district, much of which was slated for demolition after the earthquake, has been spared, at least for now. 

There is great need to strengthen the infrastructure and services people need – from the hospital to the schools to the port.  Then there is room for imagination and creativity.  SImACT and PPAF confirmed their intent to organize the workshop on investment and commerce, with topics that could include infrastructure, renewable energy, ethanol cookstoves, housing, agriculture and agribusiness, social venture capital, health, historic district, tourism and arts and artisans.  The outcomes of this workshop can help Haiti Build Back Better.

Historic building near port of Jacmel

David Stillman, PhD

Executive Director

Public-Private Alliance Foundation

Woman cooking in an American Relief Committee Camp

The photo above shows life in a displaced persons camp in Haiti.  Many are living with less.  Extradordinary reconstruction is needed. 

The United States and the United Nations (UN), in cooperation with the Government of Haiti, and with the support of Brazil, Canada, the European Union, France, and Spain,  co-hosted the “International Donors’ Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti” at the United Nations in New York on March 31.   Co-Chairs were UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Haiti President René Préval.

PPAF Executive Director David Stillman had the good fortune to speak briefly with President Clinton at the conference about ideas developed during Stillman’s recent trip to Haiti.   PPAF expects to follow up on this in the coming weeks.

The goal of the donors conference was to mobilize international support for the development needs of Haiti in an effort to lay the foundation for the country’s long-term recovery.  The Prime Minister of Haiti  presented the Action Plan for Haiti’s future and explained how international support can assist. Countries, international organizations, and other partners had an opportunity to pledge resources, to discuss coordination in support of Haiti’s long-term recovery and to commit to a sustained effort to support Haiti.

At the conference, the United Nations Members States and International Partners pledged US$ 5.3 billion for the next two years and US$ 9.9 billion in total for the next three years and beyond. 

View here the Closing Press Conference .   The action plan, the meeting agenda and the final communiqué also available on the www.haiticonference.org site.

Haiti:  Building Back Better was the underlying theme of three meetings held at the United Nations on February 24.  UN Webcasts are available for all three — click on the blue titles below.  

David Stillman spoke at the morning session – the Communications Workshop.  A group of PPAF and related colleagues attended, including Scott Wright and Jeanne Betsock Stillman, board members; John L. German, Senior Fellow; Rosario Rodriguez, Associate; and colleagues Rodney Leon and Renan X. Pierre, Haiti Initiative for Building, Infrastructure and Sustainable Communities (HIBISCUS), Alex Krutansky (businessman) and Dr. Leo Slutsky.  Stillman’s remarks can be found at:   39’42″ and Q&A at 1:12′ 53″ and 1: 35′

UN Department of Public Information/NGO Communications Workshop on “NGOs responding to crisis: Meeting new challenges – The case of Haiti“.  1 hr 49 min. Ambassador Jean-Wesley Cazeau, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Mission of Haiti to the UN, gave opening remarks on the situation in Haiti.  Speakers included: Nicholas Reader, Deputy Spokesperson of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); Patrick McCormick, Senior Emergency Communications Specialist and Deputy Chief of Media Relations at UNICEF HQ; Jocelyn McCalla, Senior Advisor to the Special Envoy of Haiti for the United Nations; David Stillman, Executive Director of the Public-Private Alliance Foundation (PPAF); and Patricia Sacristan, past Chair of the Young Professionals for International Cooperation, United Nations Association of the USA, Southern New York State Division.  The Moderator was Gail Bindley-Taylor Sainté, Information Officer, NGO Relations, UN Department of Public Information.

Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General focused on the Situation in Haiti.  1 hr. 4 min. Anthony Banbury, Acting Principal Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) briefed journalists on the situation in Haiti.

Special Event: “Haiti Re-Building Against All Odds: Fostering Partnerships”.  1 hr. 41 min. Organized by the United Nations Association of Haiti in Collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Haiti to the United Nations.   The event was opened by Harvey Dupiton, new Secretary-General of the United Nations Association of Haiti.   Ambassador Francis Lorenzo, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the UN, co-founder of the UN Association of the Dominican Republic, and Vice-Chair of the PPAF Board, gave welcoming remarks.   Ambassador Leo Merores, Permanent Representative of Haiti to the United Nations, gave the keynote address.   Panels included ”Community Level Participation in Education and Health,” “Partnerships in Microfinance and a Diaspora-originated Investment Fund for Haiti” and ”How Can Haiti’s Dynamic Music and Art Culture Boost Development?”

Currently all United Nations Webcasts on Haiti are being grouped at the following site:  http://www.un.org/webcast/haiti.html

At a meeting to be held by the UN Department of Public Information on Wednesday, February 24, PPAF Executive Director David Stillman will join speakers from UNICEF, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN Peacekeeping Force in Haiti (MINUSTAH),  and others knowledgeable about Haiti and disaster recovery.

The morning session will focus on the immense and shocking crisis in Haiti immediately following the earthquake that occurred on 12 January 2010, which has affected an estimated 3 million people. The discussion will assess specific and new challenges arising from this  event.  An afternoon session will focus on social networking mechanisms that spread the news of the disaster around the world, and how these relate to NGOs.

At a separately sponsored conference in the afternoon, the Mission of Haiti to the UN will join the United Nations Association of Haiti and others  for presentations on the subject “Haiti Rebuilding Againsit All Odds:  Fostering Partnerships.”

The Public-Private Alliance Foundation is receiving offers of assistance and inquiries from companies and individuals about getting involved in work relating to the immediate crisis in Haiti, as well as longer-term actions.  PPAF is working with several groups on providing generators and warehouse space, as well as longer-range programming.  Feel free to send your ideas and offers of assistance for collaborative work to: ppafoundation@gmail.com

We want to share important sources for learning about what is happening beyond what is reported in the press.

(1)     The Interagency Standing Committee of the United Nations

Only through pooling information from many relief sources can one start to understand what is happening on the ground. The Interagency Standing Committee (IASC) of the United Nations is the main mechanism for interagency coordination of humanitarian assistance, involving key UN and non-UN humanitarian partners. See http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/iasc/

The IASC  is chaired by the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), Sir John Holmes. The full members are the heads of the UN humanitarian agencies. Standing invitees include Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, World Bank, International Organization for Migration, International Committee of the Red Cross, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Inter-Action, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (represented by World Vision International) and the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (represented by Oxfam).

The Logistics Cluster of the IASC is an excellent source for daily news updates which give information on the logistics situation in Haiti and in the D.R. for Haiti, as well as other extensive information. See the http://www.logcluster.org website.   The World Food Program is the lead agency for the Logistics Cluster.

(2)  The Center for International Disaster Information

The Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) encourages Americans to respond appropriately and responsibly to the earthquake in Haiti. Those who wish to best help the victims in Haiti are asked to donate cash as an alternative to in-kind donations such as clothing and canned goods. Cash donations are widely recognized as the most efficient and effective means of relief, a policy supported by CIDI’s funding partner, the United States Agency for International Development’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, and those in the established international disaster response community.

This extensive site provides guidelines for giving aid, information for individuals, non-profit organizations, corporations and teachers, and links to the federal business opportunity site for “requests for proposals.”

For those who want to volunteer, the CIDI website provides information about the types of volunteers who are needed and accepted by most agencies: usually people with relevant language skills, at least ten years’ experience in disaster relief, with specific skills in medicine, health, communications and logistics, and willing to spend at least three months in country.  Full details are available on the website.  There is a place to register your availability; relief agencies review the database and independently contact potential volunteers.  See http://www.cidi.org

Life for millions of people in Haiti changed dramatically on January 12, 2010.  Current estimates make 100,000 a conservative estimate of deaths.   By January 15, the Dominican Republic was in the midst of responding to the crisis.  As a staging area for international assistance, the D.R. channeled popular and governmental outpouring of humanitarian aid.  Be sure to watch PPAF’s video on the crisis.

We have uploaded to PPAF’s Flickr photo gallery photos of readily visible external aid.  I spoke with Spanish pilots and firefighters.   The pilots were bringing in heavy equipment in C-130 transports.  The Poles, from the national fire department, are part of the United Nations International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG).

INSARAG is a global network of more than 80 countries and disaster response organizations under the United Nations umbrella.   It responds to urban search and rescue needs.   In addition to fire department work at home, the Polish group had worked in post-earthquake situations in Italy, Turkey and Pakistan.

Dominican Aid

PPAF has uploaded to its YouTube channel a video where I talk with Dr. Virgilio Malagon.  See Haiti Crisis: Dominican and PPAF Response . In addition to his role as adviser to the president of the National Energy Commission, he is a ham radio operator and long-standing volunteer with the National Emergency Commission. 

Malagon said that the D.R. is establishing a buffer zone to accommodate refugees from the crisis.  President Fernandez already traveled to Port-au-Prince to offer Dominican support.  Hardware supermarkets are donating quantities of hammers, shovels, picks and other equipment for Haitians seeking loved ones by hand, and lumber and other construction materials to start the reconstruction process.  The D.R. started a campaign for 100 pesos for Haiti, to encourage individuals to donate funds.  It had raised the equivalent of US$ 500,000 in a couple of days.

PPAF Role

We are mobilizing immediate and longer-term support through partnerships.  We encourage readers to see our blog of January 15 and to make contributions to Airline Ambassadors International and to Project C.U.R.E.  They obtain donated materiel and medical supplies and equipment and deliver this to areas in need.

In the coming months PPAF will work with its partners to establish jobs and other income generating activities that are crucial to help Haiti move beyond this crisis.  Planning and outreach have already begun.   PPAF partners have offered biofuel and generators, construction engineering consultancy and management, and links to various potential financial and professional resources.

Please consider giving to PPAF for its work in intermediate rebuilding of Haiti.