Nation continues to face severe challenges

Haiti is to receive US$45 million in grant funding from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) between 2021 and 2024.

That’s the word from CDB Vice-President of Operations Isaac Solomon in his address to the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti today. Solomon explained that the grant funding is part of the bank’s new country strategy developed for Haiti.

It was developed following the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moïse in July 2021.

As part of the new country strategy for Haiti, the CDB will seek to strengthen its capacity for greater adaptability and effectiveness considering Haiti’s distinct challenges.

While addressing the Advisory Group, Solomon stressed that the CDB is exploring innovative instruments to extend financing facilities, grow multilateral finance and build a stronger financial ecosystem for the region, bringing benefits to Haiti.

The CDB is also aiming to increase access to concessional finance, given the multiple vulnerabilities faced by Haiti and the rest of the region.

Haiti facing severe challenges

Haiti continues to face severe challenges since a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the country in January 2010, leaving more than 200,000 Haitians dead and causing billions of dollars in damage. Since then, the country has continued to have more minor earthquakes and severe floods each year.

The CDB vice-president assured that the bank would remain engaged with its Haiti Country Office to preserve hard-won development gains and build resilience. The office, which was established in 2018, is the only CDB operational post apart from its headquarters in Barbados.

The bank is also seeking to scale up donor coordination. 

“Each donor should concentrate on its areas of strength and where it can have maximum impact. Responding quickly and in a coordinated manner, with harmonised processes will be very important for optimising our resources and realising greater benefits for all,” the CDB vice president said.

In addition, the CDB will seek to increase collaboration with humanitarian organisations, non-governmental and civil society organisations, and local actors, as well as to ramp up private sector support to foster resilience in ways not covered by traditional humanitarian and development response, particularly at the micro-level and in the informal sector.

Since Haiti joined the CDB in 2007, the bank has allocated grants totaling US$209 million for interventions in education and training, community-driven development and agriculture, environment, and disaster risk management, as well as sustainable energy.

The CDB is a regional financial institution established in 1970 to contribute to the harmonious economic growth and development of its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs).

In addition to the 19 BMCs, the CDB’s membership includes four regional, non-borrowing members (Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela) and five non-regional, non-borrowing members (Canada, China, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom). CDB’s total assets as of December 31, 2020, stood at US$3.64 billion.