Haiti Earthquake
On January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake.
The Government of Haiti estimated that the earthquake caused 316,000 fatalities, although other estimates indicated lower figures. The government also released estimates that over 300,000 people were injured. Approximately 2.3 million people were displaced from their homes, including 302,000 children. In addition, twenty-five percent of all civil servants in Port-au-Prince died in the earthquake and sixty percent of the government buildings were destroyed, including the Presidential Palace.
Hundreds of international organizations, bilateral agencies and military entities immediately began providing humanitarian assistance. Funds were raised from around the world.
On March 31, 2010, an international pledging conference was held at the United Nations in New York called, “Toward a New Future for Haiti.” Over 140 representatives participated representing 58 donors. The Government of Haiti’s Action Plan for National Recovery and Development estimated costs at $11.5 billion. Of the 140 donors represented at the conference, 58 pledged a total of $8.3 billion to be spent over ten years.
The United Nations Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti, led by President Clinton and Paul Farmer, tracked donor pledges, commitments and disbursements as well as how much the development funding disbursed stayed in Haiti.
Haiti Earthquake Key Data
• International NGOs raised an additional $3.06 billion for earthquake response and recovery efforts.
• Overall humanitarian and recovery funding disbursed from bilateral and multilateral donors between 2010-2012: $6.4 billion ($2.42 billion in humanitarian and $4.01 billion in recovery).
• Of the $6.4 billion disbursed between 2010-2012, less than 10 percent was disbursed directly to the GOH using its systems; less than 0.6 percent was disbursed directly to Haitian organizations and businesses as program grants.
2010 Haiti Earthquake Assistance
