STRENGTHENING HAITI’S RESILIENCE TO MULTIPLE June 2022 DISASTER RISKS IN A VOLATILE CONTEXT Investments in diverse capacities improve resilience to multiple concurrent hazards AT A GLANCE Country: Haiti Risks: Multi-hazard GFDRR Areas of Engagement: Promoting open access to risk information; Deepening financial protection; Strengthening hydromet services and early-warning systems; Enabling resilient recovery “Thanks to the support of the World Bank and the European Union, key investments were made in spatial data production, open data platforms, and technical training, to the advantage of DRM activities in Haiti.” —Boby Emmanuel Piard, the Director-General of the National Center for Geospatial Information (Centre National de l’Information Géo-Spatiale - CNIGS), in January 2021. Video campaign launched by Haiti’s General Directorate for Civil Protection (DGPC). Abstract Jovenel Moïse in July 2021 and growing insecurity Efforts to strengthen disaster risk management at across the country. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic multiple levels of Haiti’s policy and decision-making continues to place an enormous strain on Haiti’s gained even more relevance after repeated disaster beleaguered public health infrastructure, bringing into events. sharp focus the institutional deficiencies and inadequate capacities of its disaster risk management agencies and further aggravating the country’s social and economic Context/Introduction vulnerabilities. Haiti continues to endure a cycle of disasters with These events have underscored the challenges inherent extreme human and economic impacts. The latest in establishing a viable strategy for disaster risk events on record are the August 14, 2021, 7.2 magnitude management that addresses multiple risks, especially in earthquake that struck near the city of Les Cayes, in a country with severe exposure to hazards and political the southern peninsula, causing over 2,000 deaths and instability that can hinder a coordinated response. affecting over 800,000 people.1 This was followed two In this context, support from Haiti’s international days later by Hurricane Grace, which resulted in severe partners—including the European Union (EU) and the flooding and caused massive disruptions to earthquake Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery relief efforts. These events took place in a volatile (GFDRR)—has been crucial in providing local disaster political context following the assassination of president management practitioners and stakeholders with improved institutional capacities. These efforts have also contributed to promoting sustainable and inclusive 1 UN OCHA. “Haiti: Earthquake Situation Report No. 7 (7 October resilience practices. 2021).” Accessed via ReliefWeb at https://bit.ly/3GenvPM. CARIBBEAN REGIONAL RESILIENCE BUILDING FACILITY A partnership funded by Managed by RESULTS IN RESILIENCE SERIES Approach contributes to improved data collection and management Despite the events that have repeatedly hindered Haiti’s practices for categorizing different types of buildings progress in developing resilience, it is important to and infrastructure to determine the feasibility of note the progress that have been made possible by retrofit designs. Activities emphasized the importance sustained investments and a strong partnership between of building resilient infrastructure systems to provide the EU, the World Bank, and the government of Haiti, reliable services to fulfill critical needs in the aftermath which have contributed to reinforcing institutional, of disaster shocks by providing a diagnostic of critical technological, and infrastructural capacities for disaster public infrastructure sectors, such as transportation, risk management. In this regard, the support provided energy, and water. to Haitian disaster management experts through several These different activities have been undertaken in technical assistance (TA) initiatives under the European partnership with the EU and have also helped build Union (EU)’s Caribbean Regional Resilience Building Haiti’s path to financial resilience against disasters. Facility (CRRBF) have been instrumental in developing Disaster risk financing (DRF) activities are critical to knowledge and sharing best practices. strengthen the country’s resilience and protect poor Under the Building Physical, Fiscal and Inclusive and vulnerable communities. In partnership with Resilience in Haiti project, Haiti’s General Directorate the EU-funded CRRBF, Haiti is currently developing a for Civil Protection (DGPC) received guidance on how comprehensive DRF strategy and finding innovative ways to manage overlapping risks. For example, a public to enhance the government’s understanding of disaster- communication campaign was launched by the DGPC related contingent liabilities and financial capacity. ahead of the 2020 and 2021 hurricane seasons, promoting messages on early warning, evacuation, and community mobilization to the public, with an added emphasis on Highlighted Results outreach to women, girls, and the disabled population. Some of the technical benefits received by the DGCP Improved } emergency preparedness and response under this partnership include improved shelter capacities management, recommendations on how to include The successful video campaign launched by the COVID-19 guidelines in shelter management practices, DGPC has contributed to strengthening systems for and institutional support to streamline the organization’s emergency preparedness and response and raised internal management structure. awareness at the most local levels, bridging the gap between institutions and the community. Furthermore, Under the same project, Haitian stakeholders were detailed research was carried out on how behavioral provided with technological advances to better inform insights can inform the design and construction of their policies on risk levels, especially by supporting the emergency shelters. Insights were gathered from development of geospatial data collection and analysis the behavioral sciences, architecture, and design to capacities. These activities have helped the National understand how to promote good behavior and safety, Center for Geospatial Information operationalize their enhance management, and ensure equitable access to new drone labs, which were created in the aftermath of shelters. the August 2021 earthquake and Hurricane Grace, and which gather data later used to coordinate humanitarian Increased } gender activities response as well as the Post Disaster Needs Assessment The enhanced focus on gender in DRM has led to (PDNA). This technical assistance also supported Haiti’s an increase in activities that address the needs of Hydrometeorological Unit (Unité HydroMétéorologique women and girls in emergency situations. This has d’Haïti - UHM) to better monitor and analyze led to outputs such as the Gender Gap Analysis in the meteorological, hydrological, and climate data. DRM sector, published in the frame of the integrating The Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management in Gender and Behavioral Sensitive Approaches to Public Infrastructure Management in Haiti project also Enhance DRM in Haiti TA. CARIBBEAN REGIONAL RESILIENCE BUILDING FACILITY A partnership funded by Managed by RESULTS IN RESILIENCE SERIES Photo: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo Development } of open data platforms LESSONS LEARNED Data platforms such as HaitiData.org have become valuable resources to consult geographic Haiti’s multiple upheavals in the past year information systems and cartographic data, making have led CRRBF project teams to adopt key information such as the updated locations of emergency shelters available to disaster risk flexible implementation strategies and management experts. Additional trainings were contingency plans to maintain the continuity provided to Haitian practitioners on how to use this of activities. tool. This platform was built with initial support from the African Caribbean Pacific-European Union Natural The importance of building partnerships with Disaster Risk Reduction (ACP-EU NDRR) Program and local stakeholders with in-depth knowledge further developed under the CRRBF, and is a testament of Haiti cannot be overstated. This is crucial to the partnership with the EU. to ensure the continuity of project operations Informed, } high-quality recommendations during crises such as the recent earthquake. for resilience-building This approach also contributes to long- A rapid diagnostic was delivered on school term resilience, benefiting local actors and infrastructure, which provided recommendations to the government and will be informing the development institutions. of an infrastructure investment plan. Maintaining the political independence of Increased } coverage and identification of households in case of emergencies DRM institutions contributes to their capacity New methodologies have been explored to reach out to weather political upheaval and unrest, and to households that should be included in protection ensures that the body of DRM knowledge programs in case of emergencies. is preserved regardless of government Increased } predictability and reduced budgetary capacities. uncertainty Assisting the government in developing tools and financial mechanisms to promote resilience has been a building block of the support provided to Haiti. CARIBBEAN REGIONAL RESILIENCE BUILDING FACILITY A partnership funded by Managed by RESULTS IN RESILIENCE SERIES