ROSEAU, Dominica – THOUGH Haiti has fallen back in the headlines since the catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake on January 12, heads of government within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have forged ahead to gather support for the disaster-stricken state.

At last week’s 21st Inter-sessional meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government held in Roseau, Dominica, regional leaders emphasized the need for CARICOM to be included in all discussions regarding the reconstruction of Haiti. This, according to a communiqué issued after the two-day meeting, would allow CARICOM to play its role in advocating for the Government of Haiti.

The group of regional leaders stressed the need to respect the sovereignty of Haiti and that priorities of that country should guide strategies and plans in its rebuilding. 

“The Conference stressed that the reconstruction of Haiti would require a long-term commitment of the international community and that strengthening the institutional and administrative capacity of Haiti must be a priority if the country is to play a lead role in its own reconstruction,” the communiqué stated.

Since the earthquake, Haiti’s revenue flow had plummeted by some 80%, as reported by CARICOM, limiting its government’s ability to respond appropriately to the crisis. The country’s need for budgetary support by the international community and global financial institutions has emerged as “a most critical priority”.

CARICOM leaders therefore dialogued with representatives from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to secure financial assistance for Haiti. The leaders lobbied for a special fund to be established that would harbour all the resources identified for Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake.

The regional leaders also suggested that any assistance to Haiti should be grant aid and not loans, even if those loans were to be on concessionary terms.

A special presentation was made by Haitian President His Excellency René Préval, stating that the international community needed to learn from the “humanitarian crisis” and establish a civilian force to respond to such crisis.

Decentralization, proper infrastructure, basic public services and job creation are of highest importance for the Haitian president and he emphasized that the nation’s reconstruction should be informed by the vision of the Government of Haiti.