IDB disbursed record US$176M this year to Haiti

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says it has disbursed a record US$176 million in grants to Haiti in 2010, including outlays for school reconstruction, budget support, and other basic services devastated by the earthquake.

The IDB’s disbursements were the most of any multilateral source of assistance to Haiti since the tragic earthquake it experienced on January 12, 2010. 

The IDB statements come in wake of criticisms of the international community for failing to fulfill pledges made to the country following the earthquake. According to the IDB, in addition to this record amount, in the coming weeks, it will disburse a US$15 million emergency grant to help Haiti fight cholera. This sum was approved on December 15 by the IDB’s Board of Executive Directors. The bank’s anti-cholera operation is coupled with a US$5 million donation from Spain for a total grant of US$20 million. 

The IDB said it also provided non-reimbursable technical cooperation grants for US$6.5 million, including US$1.5 million for improving child survival and for social safety net programmes. Haiti obtained a further US$17 million in disbursements from the Canadian government, the EU and OPEC through IDB-run projects. Altogether, IDB grants, technical cooperation grants and third-party disbursements add up to US$199.5 million for Haiti through a variety of IDB mechanisms. 

“These resources show that IDB and its member countries are making a concerted effort to help Haiti amidst the worst disaster to strike a country in modern times. We are grateful to our shareholders for their support,” said IDB president, Luis Alberto Moreno. “Given the magnitude of the devastation, money alone will not get the job done. Looking ahead, we have also increased our full-time staff working exclusively on Haiti to nearly 50, putting us in a strong position to carry out our ambitious investment programme.” 

The record disbursements come as the IDB has approved an unprecedented US$251 million in grants for Haiti in 2010, compared with US$122 million in 2009. The high approval levels herald potentially bigger disbursements in 2011. In addition to its unprecedented disbursal of grants in 2010, the IDB agreed to cancel Haiti’s pending debt of US$484 million to the IDB, and converted undisbursed loan balances of US$144 million into grants. Since 2007, Haiti has received only grants from the IDB, the largest multilateral donor to Haiti. 

Going forward, as part of the Ninth General Capital Increase (GCI-9) the IDB has pledged to provide US$200 million in grants annually to Haiti through 2020, plus an additional one-time allotment of US$137 million from the Fund for Special Operations. This brings the total support to the country through 2020 to over US$2.3 billion for reconstruction and development. Prior to the earthquake, in 2009, Haiti received approvals for US$122 million. The IDB has been working with the Interim Haitian Reconstruction Commission (IHRC), co-chaired by President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. In coordination with the international community, the IDB is focusing on six of the 14 priorities identified in the Haitian National Development Plan: education, agriculture, water and sanitation, transportation, energy, and private sector development. 

Moreno, recognising the immense challenge of rebuilding Haiti, has urged donors to continue providing assistance to the poorest country in the hemisphere. 

“We must avoid donor fatigue,” Moreno said.