Helping Haiti: World Bank on Lack of Insurance in Poor Nations, Plus Links to Aid Agencies
Last week, I asked the Social Investment Forum listserv to recommend organizations who are working to help the people of Haiti. I was heartened by the response. Links to donate to these groups are listed below.
I also spoke with RiskMetrics analyst Yasmine Lonon, who helped research a study of developing-nation disaster risk for the World Bank’s Disaster Management Facility. In response to a question from our colleague Jane Meacham, who noted that there’s almost no private insurance in Haiti, Yasmine explained how a lack of insurance hinders disaster preparedness:
“The Disaster Management Facility has studied the limited role played by private insurance in poor countries. I researched efforts to shift critical infrastructure risk from governments to the private sector. The inability to leverage private capital slows poor nations’ economic growth and development.
“Insurance policies, by shifting risk away from individuals to investors, help motivate investment in risk preparation. Outside capital could help poor nations better prepare for catastrophic risks in advance. In countries like Haiti, government resources are often consumed by disaster recovery, and there’s little available for preventive infrastructure improvements.”
Haiti’s tragedy has been compounded by its poorly-built buildings and inadequate airports and hospitals. In the long run, the nation needs structural reforms, like better building codes to leverage public and private investment, lending, and insurance; for now, its people need our help.
Thanks again to the SIF members who shared these links, listed alphabetically:
Catholic Relief Services
http://www.catholicrelief.org/
Fonkoze, the largest microfinance site in Haiti, via MicroPlace
http://www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.9.31184/
Hospital Albert Schweitzer
http://www.hashaiti.org/D1_w49.htm
Jesuit Refugee Service
http://www.jrsusa.org/support_donate_credit.php
Mennonite Central Committee, which has been working in Haiti since 1958.
http://www.mcc.org
Mercy Corps
http://www.mercycorps.org
Operation USA, a humanitarian relief organization specializing in medical supply procurement.
http://www.opusa.org/
Oxfam has created a Haiti Earthquake Emergency Response Fund.
https://secure.oxfamamerica.org/site/Donation2?df_id=3560&3560.donation=form1
Partners in Health
https://donate.pih.org/page/contribute/haiti_earthquake
Salesforce.com is matching all donations through its site. The firm is working with World Vision and the Red Cross.
http://www.salesforce.com/haiti/
United Methodist Commission on Relief (UMCOR)
http://www.umc.org
Haiti,like many smalll nations, is a subsistence economy maintained by the inflows from a diaspora population in North America.Haiti is also a subsistence economy whose very earth is sloughing off into the ocean. It is not conceivable that such a subsistence economy could create the infrastructure to anticipate disaster nor generate the funds to buy insurance on the international market.
Long before we talk of disaster prevention there is a need to be realistic about about moving the nation out of the subsistence mode of living. First, recognise that Haiti exists in a permanent disaster mode where a subsistence economy grows ever more inefficient as the earth sloughs off into the sea.Second, the UN, USA and caribbean neighbours need to seriously address the reform of the government which has continued to exploit and abuse it s own population by its failure to govern and manage. Third, neighbours need to desist from siphoning off the professional workforce if they are serious about developing the domestic capacity of Haiti.
From Bill Easterly’s blog, Aid Watch (http://aidwatchers.com/):
Could humanitarian aid cause governments to under-invest in disaster prevention, causing natural disasters to have worse effects? If so, then past disaster relief could induce worst disaster outcomes now.
http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-040.pdf
Natural disasters occur in a political space. Although events beyond our control may
trigger a disaster, the level of government preparedness and response greatly determines
the extent of suffering incurred by the affected population. We use a political economy
model of disaster prevention, supported by case studies and preliminary empirics to
explain why some governments prepare well for disasters and others do not. We show
how the presence of international aid distorts this choice and increases the chance that
governments will under-invest. Policy suggestions that may alleviate this problem are
discussed.
[...] to the Haitian relief efforts, help that is urgently needed. Many intermediaries have created compilations of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with pre-earthquake operations in Haiti, my preference [...]