Today, January 12, marks the one year anniversary of the deadly 7.0 earthquake that brought destruction to Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Hundreds of thousands left dead. Over 1.5 million still homeless.
Billions of dollars were pledged and raised from across the globe to aid in the recovery. However, what happened to the money?
In the recent front page report in The Final Call newspaper, headlined ‘How the World Failed Haiti,’ the article states:
Over 50 countries initially pledged an excess of $8.75 billion in humanitarian aid but less than 15 percent ($686 million) of that has arrived….
Besides the thousands of charity groups in the country, two major forces, the Red Cross and the United Nations peacekeepers, have also come under fire.
The Friday Haiti Relief Coalition based in New York has been protesting for months against the American Red Cross and other non-profits for holding on to millions in donations collected for Haitian relief efforts.
According to the Disaster Accountability Project’s One Year Report On The Transparency of Relief Organizations Responding to the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, the American Red Cross has raised $479 million for relief and recovery but is on track to spend only $245 million by Jan. 12.
In a statement on January 11, President Obama said, ‘The international community must now fulfill the pledges it has made to ensure a strong and sustained long-term effort.’
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