What's happening with Haiti?

The devastation from the earthquake in Port au Prince, Haiti is no longer grabbing headlines like it did back in January and February but it is still very much the focus on USA diplomatic and humanitarian efforts. Haiti has always been on the radar of the USAID Title II food aid program.



From FY2003 through FY2009, USAID has shipped on average 26,500 metric tons of packaged food aid per year to NGO programs in Haiti. In addition, roughly the same amount of bulk food commodities have been shipped to Haiti by USAID in the same period.



On January 12, 2010, USAID, the NGO community, and the supporting business communities kicked into high gear with immediate response to the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that lay waste to Port au Prince. I had first-hand insight into the chaos because one of my ocean carrier clients had a house barge en route to Port au Prince already when the earthquake hit. In fact, it was only a couple of days outside of Port au Prince coming around the Dominican Republic. Fortunately, everyone put in amazing effort both states side and on the ground in Haiti and containers full of bagged food were discharged off the barge within days of the earthquake. More food aid was already in the supply chain coming from the USA under pre-earthquake contracts.



Since the earthquake, USAID has contracted and shipped (or is in the process of shipping) 142,100 metric tons of packaged food aid through their normal pl480 Title II channels. This doesn't count any MRE rations or food being shipped from overseas by World Food Programme or donated from the USA by non-Governmental sources.



Six different ocean carrier companies have made herculean efforts (see full report here) to service a country that has had its logistics infrastructure decimated, including the razing of the country's only major port .



I expect that Haiti will continue to be a focus for food aid for years to come and it will undoubtedly be discussed at length at the annual International Food Aid Conference in Kansas City, MO in August. It should be; it is a shining example of success in USA response and policy in the global arena.