You knew it was just a matter of time before partisan angles emerged about the disaster in Haiti. The Huffington Post takes umbrage at Rush Limbaugh: “Limbaugh also seems to feel we’ve done enough already for Haiti: ‘We’ve already donated to Haiti. It’s called the U.S. income tax.’”
Obviously, when people are struggling to crawl out from rubble and with meager medical systems stretched to the breaking point, you’ve got to mobilize. But on the facts, Rush is right.
The tale of U.S. foreign aid to Haiti is maddening, as well-meaning Americans dump more and more money to alleviate suffering, only to see little or no actual improvement in the living conditions on the ground.
Since 1973, the United States has been the world’s largest foreign-aid donor to Haiti, which ranks among the world’s poorest countries.
From 1990 to 2005, the U.S. sent $1.46 billion to Haiti in aid from development assistance and children’s health through the Economic Support Fund, the U.S. food program, the Peace Corps, and foreign military training (although that was only $4.6 million, with $3 million coming in 1995). More recently,
In May 2008, the Bush administration announced that it would send an additional $25 million in emergency food aid to Haiti, bringing its total emergency contribution to $45 million . . . Congress provided $100 million for hurricane relief and reconstruction assistance for Haiti and other Caribbean countries in the FY 2009 continuing appropriations resolution, signed September 2008. Haiti received an estimated $287 million in regular appropriations for FY 2009.
So why isn’t all of this aid having an impact? Here’s how Reuters gently put it:
A combination of factors has made it difficult to distribute aid effectively to Haiti, including poor governance, political turmoil and widespread corruption. Haiti’s political system is unstable and plagued with infighting. Since 2004, a 9,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force has been on the ground. Haiti is the third most corrupt country in the world, according to corruption watchdog Transparency International, compounding the difficulties agencies face in delivering aid in an accountable and transparent way. Power lies in the hands of a few elite, leaving ministries unable to implement policies and divert funds to the local level. Haiti’s civil service is poorly trained and lacks the expertise to manage aid.
Should people give to charities to help the Haitians? Of course. But if the past is any precedent, a lot of today’s donations will end up in the wrong pockets in the not-too-distant future.