U.S. Relations With Haiti
Security Theme
Human Security
Keywords
U.S.-Haiti Bilateral Cooperation, Humanitarian Assistance, Long-term Development
Description
When Haiti is more prosperous, secure, and firmly rooted in democracy, Haitians and Americans benefit. U.S. policy toward this close neighbor is designed to foster the institutions and infrastructure necessary to achieve strong democratic foundations and meaningful poverty reduction through sustainable development. The United States is the single largest donor of humanitarian assistance to Haiti, helping to meet the needs of the most vulnerable Haitians through health care, shelter, food, nutrition, water/sanitation, and other relief. Another pillar of U.S.-Haiti bilateral cooperation is assistance for long-term development and institution building. Priority areas include support for economic growth and poverty reduction, improved healthcare, and food security, respect for human rights, stronger democratic institutions and strengthening the Haitian National Police (HNP) so Haiti can provide its own security, be a stronger partner against transnational crime, and foster long-term stability. To help combat poverty and tackle chronic unemployment, which requires job creation, the United States facilitates bilateral trade with and investment in Haiti. The large Haitian diaspora in the United States is a potentially powerful ally in the effort to expand business opportunities and build on the many links that unite Haitians and Americans. For decades, Haiti has faced significant challenges, including natural disasters and environmental shocks as well as multiple political crises. Intensified gang violence and recurring political and civil unrest since July 2018 have severely exacerbated Haiti’s dire economic and humanitarian conditions: unemployment and inflation are high; the national currency is volatile; fuel shortages are recurring and severe; foreign reserves are dangerously low; more than 60 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and more than four million Haitians face crisis- or emergency-level food insecurity. The proportion of people in Haiti facing acute food insecurity has increased significantly, from 1 in 3 people in 2018 to almost 1 in 2 people in 2022, according to the study “Food security in Central America, Panama, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Haiti,” published by the Inter-American Development Bank. In addition to grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and an economic recession, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7, 2021, and weeks later a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit southern Haiti on August 14. A nearly two-month long gang-led blockage of the nation’s largest fuel terminal from late September to early November 2022 led to a nationwide fuel shortage, shutting down hospitals and water treatment facilities at the same time cholera reemerged for the first time since 2019. While humanitarian assistance will alleviate some urgent needs, it will not, and cannot, address the root causes of the current economic and political paralysis in Haiti.
U.S. Relations With Haiti
When Haiti is more prosperous, secure, and firmly rooted in democracy, Haitians and Americans benefit. U.S. policy toward this close neighbor is designed to foster the institutions and infrastructure necessary to achieve strong democratic foundations and meaningful poverty reduction through sustainable development. The United States is the single largest donor of humanitarian assistance to Haiti, helping to meet the needs of the most vulnerable Haitians through health care, shelter, food, nutrition, water/sanitation, and other relief. Another pillar of U.S.-Haiti bilateral cooperation is assistance for long-term development and institution building. Priority areas include support for economic growth and poverty reduction, improved healthcare, and food security, respect for human rights, stronger democratic institutions and strengthening the Haitian National Police (HNP) so Haiti can provide its own security, be a stronger partner against transnational crime, and foster long-term stability. To help combat poverty and tackle chronic unemployment, which requires job creation, the United States facilitates bilateral trade with and investment in Haiti. The large Haitian diaspora in the United States is a potentially powerful ally in the effort to expand business opportunities and build on the many links that unite Haitians and Americans. For decades, Haiti has faced significant challenges, including natural disasters and environmental shocks as well as multiple political crises. Intensified gang violence and recurring political and civil unrest since July 2018 have severely exacerbated Haiti’s dire economic and humanitarian conditions: unemployment and inflation are high; the national currency is volatile; fuel shortages are recurring and severe; foreign reserves are dangerously low; more than 60 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and more than four million Haitians face crisis- or emergency-level food insecurity. The proportion of people in Haiti facing acute food insecurity has increased significantly, from 1 in 3 people in 2018 to almost 1 in 2 people in 2022, according to the study “Food security in Central America, Panama, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Haiti,” published by the Inter-American Development Bank. In addition to grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and an economic recession, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7, 2021, and weeks later a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit southern Haiti on August 14. A nearly two-month long gang-led blockage of the nation’s largest fuel terminal from late September to early November 2022 led to a nationwide fuel shortage, shutting down hospitals and water treatment facilities at the same time cholera reemerged for the first time since 2019. While humanitarian assistance will alleviate some urgent needs, it will not, and cannot, address the root causes of the current economic and political paralysis in Haiti.
