Trends in the Development Field: The Case of Haiti

Antonina Entler

3-10-13  

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/02/28/172875646/what-happened-to-the-aid-meant-to-rebuild-haiti

I came across this interview of Jonathan Katz, author of the new book The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster on NPR’s Blog Spot. I couldn’t help but notice how several issues that he mentions are part of bigger trends in the development field. One of these trends is how aid money often does more for donor countries than for the country it is intended for.  In Haiti’s case, of the $2.5 billion that made it to the country within the first few months following the 2010 earthquake, about 93% of that “either went to United Nations agencies or international nongovernmental organizations, or it never left the donor government.” This brings up a variety of concerns. Because donor countries end up giving so much money to multilateral organizations, like the UN, in the form of aid money, they end up having unequal power within those organizations. In addition, money from donor countries may go to NGO’s who are staffed mostly by its own citizens, essentially creating more jobs and tax revenue for its own country. Has the development field become an industry for donor countries?

The other trend of the development field that I saw in this article was represented when Jason Katz said, “The attitude that so many foreign aid groups have regarding Haiti is that you can basically come in and do whatever you want. So there was no accountability, no coordination. People were just running around doing what they thought was best or what they thought was best for them. And it really created a mess.” With a weakened government, Haiti was in no position to assert control over NGO’s, coordinate their efforts, or hold them accountable. Haiti essentially became a place for NGO’s, donor countries, and multilateral organizations to experiment with new ideas or push policies to their own benefit, all at the cost of a people severely in need of help.

Not to be overly negative about the development field, but I think that a healthy dose of reality is important in a field that is so often dominated by “doing good.” The truth is that by attempting to “do good,” one can also do harm. As we head out into the world to complete our practice experiences this spring, summer, and fall, I think it is important to keep an eye for these trends and how our PE organizations are complacent in or work against them.