State and USAID: Two years after a massive earthquake struck its capital in January 2010, Haiti is making strides to recover from one of the largest urban catastrophes in modern history. The earthquake, followed by a cholera epidemic, severely weakened Haiti’s economic, social, and political institutions, hindering the government’s ability to provide security and public services. In May 2011, after a protracted, contested presidential election, Haiti saw the first democratic transition of power from a democratically elected leader to an elected member of the opposition. Despite significant developmental challenges, the Government of Haiti (GOH) and its people are determined to recover and get back on a positive development trajectory.

The United States, in close cooperation with the international community, remains a steadfast partner in Haiti’s efforts to lay the foundations for reconstruction and long-term sustainable development. In FY 2013, U.S. assistance will continue to work toward a stable and economically viable Haiti, under the interagency Post-Earthquake U.S. Government Haiti Strategy and its four strategic pillars: Infrastructure and Energy; Food and Economic Security; Health and Other Basic Services; and Governance and Rule of Law. To capture stronger programmatic integration and synergy, the U.S. Government is concentrating activities in three geographic corridors: Port-au-Prince and its environs; St. Marc in the central west region; and the Northern Corridor, Cap-Haitian.

Overall, U.S. assistance will help stimulate economic growth and create opportunities outside the overcrowded capital of Port-au-Prince, such as the Northern Corridor, where the U.S. Government partners with the GOH, other donors, and the private sector in a potentially “game-changing” development investment around a new industrial park. U.S. assistance will provide energy, shelter, and other productive infrastructure especially for vulnerable groups; boost agricultural production and enhance food security; strengthen the GOH’s capacity to effectively deliver public services in health, education, and other sectors; and enhance governance and rule of law. As a priority country for implementing the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development, the Secretary of State’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, and the Administrator’s USAID Forward, the United States will increasingly work with the GOH and local Haitian institutions to increase local capacity and country ownership, reform procurement systems, and foster greater application of innovations, science, and technology, among others, to improve aid effectiveness and sustainability of foreign assistance. These reforms are at the center of the U.S.Government’s strategic efforts to implement a fundamental shift in the way it does business and refocus development. (Source: Congressional Budget Justification FY 2013)