Status of Post-Earthquake Recovery and Development Efforts in Haiti

This report is provided in response to the Assessing Progress in Haiti Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-162) (“the Act”), which directed the Secretary of State to submit to Congress an annual report on the status of post-earthquake recovery and development in Haiti. The Department of State, in cooperation with other U.S. government agencies, is submitting the report to the Committee on Foreign Affairs; the Committee on Appropriations; and the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs of the House of Representatives, and to the Committee on Foreign Relations; the Committee on Appropriations; and the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs of the Senate. In view of the scope of information sought by the Act, this report is broken into multiple attachments, some of which are in tabular form. Their contents are listed in Attachment A.

It is now almost eight years since a devastating earthquake hit Haiti January 12, 2010. U.S. assistance has shifted from disaster relief to long-term reconstruction and development efforts focused on advancing economic opportunities and job creation, increasing access to basic services, enhancing basic sanitation and safe water access to reduce the spread of cholera and other diseases, building capacity of government institutions, improving the quality of basic education, bolstering the security sector, strengthening neighborhood development, and promoting a Haitian-led approach to food security. The U.S. government committed $3.4 billion to these aid efforts, with 98 percent of those funds obligated and 88 percent disbursed as of June 2017. In November 2016, Haiti successfully completed its electoral process and the Moise administration took incremental steps to maintain macroeconomic stability in 2017. Furthermore, there has been progress in the four core pillars of the U.S. government’s “Post‑Earthquake Haiti Strategy: Toward Renewal and Economic Opportunity” – infrastructure and energy, food and economic security, health and other basic services, and governance and rule of law.

To serve as effective development partners, Haitian officials must be backed by strong and legitimate political institutions. From 2013 through early 2016, lack of consensus among Haiti’s political elites impeded progress toward timely and credible elections. On November 20, 2016, Jovenel Moise was elected president in the first round with 55 percent of the vote. The subsequent round of nationwide elections in January 2017 elected Haiti’s parliament, town halls, and local councils. For the first time since 2006, Haitians are represented at each level of government by elected officials.

Even as it faces some opposition, the Moise administration has moved forward with its agenda, prioritizing infrastructure development, economic growth, and energy creation. It has been a strong partner in the smooth repatriation from the United States of more than 5,000 Haitian migrants. In the near term, Haiti would benefit from reaching a political consensus to hold its next legislative elections and establish a permanent electoral council (CEP) to avoid repeating the electoral dysfunction from which the country just emerged. The legislative and judicial branches have made some progress toward selecting members, and the government is working towards establishing a CEP. The transition from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) to the much smaller UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) places a larger burden of responsibility for providing security on the shoulders of the Haitian police force. The Haitian National Police (HNP) managed to provide general security in its first real test – a series of sometimes-violent street protests in autumn of 2017 – with professionalism and restraint. While these protests were relatively small in scale, the Government of Haiti will need to continue building the capacity of the HNP. The HNP’s performance in managing 2017 protests is an encouraging sign as Haiti aims to strengthen its democratic institutions.

The United States spent approximately $33 million on electoral assistance leading up to the successful 2015-2017 electoral cycle, training election officials and observers, and providing logistical aid with the transport of officials, ballots, and equipment. As part of this assistance, working with USAID, the National Democratic Institute and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems spent approximately $12 million in U.S. government funds from 2013 to 2017 to make the electoral process more transparent and equitable through civic engagement to boost voter turnout, capacity building for Haitian election monitors, and work with civic organizations to deter electoral violence. In addition, the United States provided $2 million to the OAS for its electoral observation mission, and approximately $5 million to the UN Office of Project Services to support electoral logistics. Additional information about U.S. assistance initiatives related to good governance can be found in Attachment I.

In the area of Infrastructure and Energy, the Caracol Industrial Park (CIP) marked five years of operations in 2017 and serves as a model public-private partnership in northern Haiti, attracting new tenants and creating additional jobs. The number of employees and contractors at CIP grew to close to 12,900 as of September 2017, up from 10,393 in September 2016. To spur further CIP expansion, the Government of Haiti, USAID, and the International Finance Corporation moved forward with the improvement of the nearby port at Cap-Haitien. With USAID assistance, the Government of Haiti is preparing to award a new contract for port operations and management. The procurement process is in the final stages and the Government of Haiti projects it will sign an agreement in early 2018. USAID’s procurement process for the design/build work is also in the final stages and a contract award is planned in 2018 with an anticipated 30-month design/build period. USAID is also helping to train officials to ensure more efficient customs functions and transparent port regulatory operations.

U.S. shelter assistance is focused on cost-effective ways to increase durable housing stock, building on private construction and repair efforts by increasing low- and medium-income access to capital. With the assistance of the U.S. government through USAID, the Government of Haiti’s social housing unit is taking on greater responsibility for community development, including the cleaning and maintenance of common areas, drainage, and solid waste removal. The electric power plant built to supply energy to the CIP also provides power 24 hours per day to more than 10,000 residents and businesses in surrounding areas. For the customers provided with proper drops and meters, the collection rate has remained constant at around 80 percent. Additional information about the progress of U.S. efforts to expand the industrial park, energy, housing, and ports can be found in Attachment E.

In the area of Food and Economic Security, U.S. government assistance has helped Haitian farmers by increasing productivity, improving watershed management and irrigation systems, and directly linking the buyers and sellers of agricultural products. Approximately 80,000 farmer households have more than doubled their incomes as beneficiaries of USAID’s Feed the Future initiative. Because most job growth comes from small businesses, USAID’s Local Enterprise and Value Chain Enhancement program has provided technical assistance and business development services that strengthened management and improved product quality for more than 1,000 micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, the Leveraging Effective Application of Direct Investments program helped attract investment through matching grants. Via the work of the Department of the Treasury, the United States also helped the Government of Haiti consolidate financial accounts and increase transparency and revenue generation. Attachment L provides additional information about U.S. food security initiatives, and Attachment J elaborates on U.S. engagement with Haiti’s private sector.

In the area of Health and other Basic Services, U.S. government assistance improved health indicators through programs managed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and USAID. There have been significant gains in cholera prevention and control since the peak of the outbreak in 2011 – specifically in regards to improved disease surveillance; expanded laboratory capacity; and community-level water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions. The 2017 year-to-date figures represent a 66 percent decline in reported suspected cholera cases compared to 2016 and more than a 97 percent decline from 2011. The number of HIV-positive patients enrolled on anti-retroviral treatment grew from 4,294 in 2005 to 91,660 in 2017, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is provided to nearly 100 percent of pregnant women in care at a health facility – one of the highest rates in the world. With U.S. government support, Haiti successfully eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) – a critical feat allowing the region of the Americas to be declared MNT-free. U.S. health assistance is focused on preventing, detecting, and responding to public health threats and building the Government of Haiti’s capacity to provide citizens with quality health care. Haiti’s Ministry of Health served as a pilot ministry by taking on increased responsibility for tracking expenditures. The ministry also implemented a results-based financing system that directs increased budgetary resources to high-performing health facilities.

In the area of governance and rule of law, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and USAID are working to promote effective, transparent, and accountable administrative and law enforcement agencies. INL worked to bolster Haiti’s criminal justice system, fostering respect for human rights, improving counternarcotics efforts, and renovating corrections facilities. With U.S. assistance, the HNP added approximately 7,000 trained officers to its force since the devastating 2010 earthquake. The HNP now numbers approximately 15,500 officers, of which approximately 10 percent are women.

The U.S. government, through INL, helped alleviate prison overcrowding through construction of new prisons in Cabaret and Fort Liberté in 2016 and is nearing completion of a third prison in Petit Goave. However, the Haitian government will still need to contribute significant resources towards this effort to avoid further exacerbating overcrowding of prisons in Port-au-Prince. USAID provided software and training to targeted municipalities that increased tax collections and improved community planning and service delivery. Further details about engagement with civil society organizations are available in Attachments F and G, and a comprehensive list of programs and projects in Haiti can be found in Attachment B.

In a country more prone to natural disasters than almost any other, progress in long-term reconstruction and development has not been as great as Haiti or the United States had hoped. Still, there have been significant achievements in areas such as police professionalization, health indicators, and agricultural production. A description of the benchmarks and indicators linked with development objectives is provided in Attachment C.

While U.S. assistance providers made no major strategy adjustments in 2016, they continued to implement two key changes made in January 2015. First, in the area of shelter, assistance has evolved from building new housing to complementing private sector housing solutions. The new focus, which stretches funds to benefit more Haitians, is on improvements in access to housing financing and community development, including the maintenance and improvement of existing neighborhoods. Second, the objective of building a new port to support CIP changed, at the Government of Haiti’s request, to rehabilitating the existing port in Cap-Haitien. Both of these adjustments have lowered costs and enhanced project sustainability by promoting local solutions and Government of Haiti buy-in. These changes, as well as smaller strategy adjustments, are described in Attachment D.

Haiti made important advances in its reconstruction and development. The United States has a significant national interest in helping to build a prosperous, stable, and healthy future for a regional partner and neighbor so close to our shores, and has demonstrated a commitment to Haiti’s development over the long term. Additional information about the U.S. government’s engagement in Haiti is available in Attachments H, K, M, N, and O.

Attachment B: The Activities List responds to sections 5(b)(2) and 5(b)(3)(D) of the Assessing Progress in Haiti Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-162) (the Act). Section 5(b)(2) calls for “a breakdown of the work that United States Government agencies other than USAID and the Department of State are conducting in that recovery effort, and the cost of that assistance[.]” Section 5(b)(3)(D) calls for “the amounts committed, obligated, and expended on programs and activities to implement the Strategy, by sector and by implementing partner at the prime and subprime levels (in amounts of not less than $25,000)[.]” The information is provided in tabular form.

Attachment C: The Description of Indicators responds to section 5(b)(3)(C) of the Act. Section 5(b)(3)(C) of the Act calls for “a description of the quantitative and qualitative indicators used to evaluate the progress toward meeting the goals and objectives, benchmarks, and timeframes specified in the Strategy at the program level[.]” The information is provided in tabular form.

Attachment D: The Strategy Overview responds to sections 5(b)(1), 5(b)(3)(A) and 5(b)(3)(B) of the Act. Section 5(b)(1) calls for “a summary of the “Post-Earthquake USG Haiti Strategy: Toward Renewal and Economic Opportunity “, including any significant changes to the strategy over the reporting period and an explanation thereof[.]” Section 5(b)(3)(A) calls for “an assessment of progress, or lack thereof, over the reporting period toward meeting the goals and objectives, benchmarks, and timeframes specified in the Strategy[.]” Section 5(b)(3)(B) calls for “a description of any significant changes to the Strategy over the reporting period and an explanation thereof.” The information is provided in tabular form.

Attachment E: Responds to Sections 5(b)(3), 5(b)(3)(A), 5(b)(3)(B)(i), 5(b)(3)(B)(ii), 5(b)(3)(B)(iii), and 5(b)(3)(E) of the Act. Section 5(b)(3) calls for “an assessment of the progress of United States efforts to advance the objectives of the “Post Earthquake USG Haiti Strategy: Toward Renewal and Economic Opportunity”’ produced by the Department of State, compared to what remains to be achieved to meet specific goals[.]” Section 5(b)(3)(A) calls for “a description of any significant changes to the Strategy over the reporting period and an explanation thereof.” Section 5(b)(3)(B)(i) calls for “a description of progress toward designing and implementing a coordinated and sustainable housing reconstruction strategy that addresses land ownership, secure land tenure, water and sanitation, and the unique concerns of vulnerable populations such as women and children, as well as neighborhood and community revitalization, housing finance, and capacity building for the Government of Haiti to implement an effective housing policy.” Section 5(b)(3)(B)(ii) calls for “a description of United States Government efforts to construct and sustain the proposed port, as well as an assessment of the current projected timeline and cost for completion[.]” Section 5(b)(3)(B)(iii) calls for “a description of United States Government efforts to attract and leverage the investments of private sector partners to the CIP, including by addressing any policy implements[.]” Section 5(b)(3)(E) call for “a description of the risk mitigation measures put in place to limit the exposure of United States assistance provided under the Strategy to waste, fraud, and abuse[.]” The responses to these provisions of the Act are detailed in Attachment D.

Attachment F: Responds to section 5(b)(4) of the Act. Section 5(b)(4) calls for “a description of measures taken to strengthen, and United States Government efforts to improve, Haitian governmental and nongovernmental organizational capacity to undertake and sustain United States-supported recovery programs[.]”

Attachment G: Responds to section 5(b)(5) of the Act. Section 5(b)(5) calls for “as appropriate, a description of United States efforts to consult and engage with Government of Haiti ministries and local authorities on the establishment of goals and timeframes, and on the design and implementation of new programs under the Post-Earthquake USG Haiti Strategy: Toward Renewal and Economic Opportunity[.]”

Attachment H: Responds to section 5(b)(6) of the Act. Section 5(b)(6) calls for “a description of efforts by Haiti’s legislative and executive branches to consult and engage with Haitian civil society and grassroots organizations on the establishment of goals and timeframes, and on the design and implementation of new donor-financed programs, as well as efforts to coordinate with and engage the Haitian diaspora[.]”

Attachment I: Responds to section 5(b)(7) of the Act. Section 5(b)(7) calls for “consistent with the Government of Haiti’s ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, a description of efforts of the Governments of the United States and Haiti to strengthen Government of Haiti institutions established to address corruption, as well as related efforts to promote public accountability, meet public outreach and disclosure obligations, and support civil society participation in anti-corruption efforts[.]”

Attachment J: Responds to section 5(b)(8) of the Act. Section 5(b)(8) calls for “a description of efforts to leverage public-private partnerships and increase the involvement of the private sector in Haiti in recovery and development activities and coordinate programs with the private sector and other donors[.]”

Attachment K: Responds to section 5(b)(9) of the Act. Section 5(b)(9) calls for “a description of efforts to address the particular needs of vulnerable populations, including internally displaced persons, women, children, orphans, and persons with disabilities, in the design and implementation of new programs and infrastructure[.]”

Attachment L: Responds to section 5(b)(10) of the Act. Section 5(b)(10) calls for “a description of the impact that agriculture and infrastructure programs are having on the food security, livelihoods, and land tenure security of smallholder farmers, particularly women[.]”

Attachment M: Responds to section 5(b)(11) of the Act. Section 5(b)(11) calls for “a description of mechanisms for communicating the progress of recovery and development efforts to the people of Haiti, including a description of efforts to provide documentation, reporting and procurement information in Haitian Creole[.]”

Attachment N: Responds to section 5(b)(12) of the Act. Section 5(b)(12) calls for “a description of the steps the Government of Haiti is taking to strengthen its capacity to receive individuals who are removed, excluded, or deported from the United States[.]”

Attachment O: Responds to section 5(b)(13) of the Act. Section 5(b)(13) calls for “an assessment of actions necessary to be taken by the Government of Haiti to assist in fulfilling the objectives of the Strategy[.]”

Attachment B: Activities List [405 KB]

Attachment C: Description Of Indicators [PDF Version] [413 KB]

Attachment D: Strategy Overview [PDF Version] [431 KB]

Section 5(b)(3)(B): An assessment of progress, or lack thereof, over the reporting period toward meeting the goals and objectives, benchmarks, and timeframes specified in the Strategy, including –

For all pillars of the Strategy, refer to; Attachment D: The Strategy Overview Section 5(b)(1),(3)(A) and (3)(B) Excel Chart (updated as of 9/30/2017).

In spite of the challenges of the post-earthquake environment, the Government of Haiti has taken steps to improve the business climate, attract investments, and create jobs. Haitian officials have prioritized investments in basic infrastructure, manufacturing, and agriculture as areas that pay large dividends in fostering economic growth. The Haitian government also reinforced its commitment to improving and strengthening the health system and health services throughout the country. There has been significant progress to improve key health indicators and meet the objectives of Pillar C of the U.S. Haiti Strategy. The U.S. government continues to support access to basic health services for approximately 40 percent of the Haitian population (Health Priority, Strategic Component 1, 2, & 3). In concert with other U.S. government agencies and the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the Department of Health and Human Services has worked to address major causes of morbidity and mortality, particularly for infectious diseases (Health Priority, Strategic Component 2). CDC has also concentrated its efforts to strengthen MSPP systems related to surveillance, laboratory capacity, health system performance, and expansion of the health workforce (Health Priority, Strategic Component 4). Via USAID, capacity building assistance is helping the MSPP to improve data collection and usage, upgrade internal management systems, manage diverse funding sources, and improve its ability to attract, train, and retain professional health workers, and improve internal governance, transparency, and accountability (Health Priority, Strategic Component 4). Significant gains have been made in the area of health infrastructure (nursing school, National Faculty of Health Sciences, and rural clinics) as well (Health Priority, Strategic Component 5). The country is demonstrating positive results and increased human and institutional capacity, in line with the goals and benchmarks of the Strategy.

Section5(b)(3)(B)(i): A description of progress toward designing and implementing a coordinated and sustainable housing reconstruction strategy that addresses land ownership, secure land tenure, water and sanitation, and the unique concerns of vulnerable populations such as women and children, as well as neighborhood and community revitalization, housing finance, and capacity building for the Government of Haiti to implement an effective housing policy.

Since the earthquake, U.S. government-funded shelter solutions, implemented through USAID, have benefited more than 328,000 people, approximately one-fifth of the 1.5 million people estimated to have been displaced by the earthquake. These solutions include permanent housing, transitional shelters, housing repairs, support to host families, rental vouchers, expanding the role of the private sector (financial institutions and land developers), and support to the Government of Haiti authority responsible for housing the vulnerable.

In mid-2017, USAID completed its planned support for its community development and engagement work at one of the USAID-built permanent housing locations near Port-au-Prince. At a second site in the North, the U.S. government is winding down its community development and engagement efforts. USAID’s focus on community development shifted from primarily supporting the Government of Haiti social housing group (EPPLS) to supporting elected community committees working on a variety of topics. Training has been provided to the committee members in such areas as organizational structures, outreach to the community, and how to take appropriate actions. For both sites, collection of lease fees has improved, but EPPLS has to work with the families to attain an acceptable collection level. USAID’s partners conducted job-related skills training to help generate family incomes.

At two additional locations, Terrier Rouge and Ouanaminthe, the United States partnered with another donor on the development of permanent housing settlements. USAID financed the construction of sites and services (water, sanitation, roads and walkways, street lighting, and storm drainage). The partner donor is funding the construction of the permanent houses and community outreach and development. USAID’s work at these two locations is complete and donor-funded houses are nearing completion. The donor, working with the Government of Haiti, is finalizing the beneficiary selection process. Once the selection is completed, families will be moving into their new leased residences.

USAID continues to support the Government of Haiti’s revised housing policy, in particular by helping to address the extensive housing stock shortage in existing formal and informal communities. USAID has been working to identify the needs of these communities, supporting the Government of Haiti entities responsible for housing, and leveraging the significant investments made by existing homeowners to improve and expand their residences and build new houses using safer building techniques. In the one informal community where USAID is working, signs of progress are everywhere with the construction of small community-selected activities (street lighting, drainage systems, community gathering places, street signs, and water and sanitation programs), and plans are finalized for larger works. Most importantly, the community is organizing to decide and plan further growth in a more structured way, leaving room for adequate roads and public spaces for example. With support from USAID, the Government of Haiti’s housing construction unit has taken a broader leadership role in organizing donor activities to avoid duplication. USAID continues to support training programs focusing on improved construction quality by enhancing the skills of construction trade workers. Another key element to building safer houses is oversight of the work; USAID is training homeowners on proper building techniques so they are prepared to oversee the work of their contractors.

USAID efforts to broaden access to formal credit by low and medium income households are very encouraging, with financial institutions demonstrating a willingness to lend to this important population segment. The support for the development of loan tools and training of loan officers on review of loan applications and how to properly service the loan resulted in increased lending. To date, the program has the participation of two large credit institutions.

USAID is also supporting housing development by fostering market efficiencies and financial inclusion in its innovative Homeownership and Mortgage Expansion (HOME) Program. This three-year program, established in July 2015, addresses the affordable housing challenge by: (1) increasing the supply of affordable housing by working with developers and landowners and (2) increasing the demand for affordable housing by working with financial institutions to offer housing loans to middle and lower income Haitian households.

To provide financial institutions with an incentive to make housing loans, the HOME project provides grants upon receipt of evidence of loan disbursement. To date, the project has seen a leverage rate of 15, disbursing $250,000 in grants to Haitian banks and credit unions that have made more than 550 housing loans totaling $3.6 million. In addition, housing portfolios at partner financial institutions have grown by 117 percent and the housing loan share of the general lending portfolio has increased from 19 percent to 35 percent. Meanwhile, technical assistance, including training in credit underwriting, monitoring, and portfolio quality conditions has enabled financial institutions to become more efficient at managing risk, reducing the rate of default from 3.6 percent in 2015 to 1.6 percent today.

Section 5(b)(3)(B)(ii): A description of United States government efforts to construct and sustain the proposed port, as well as an assessment of the current projected timeline and cost for completion.

Deliberate progress is being made on the reconstruction of the Cap-Haitien Port. The parallel tracks of the Government of Haiti pursuing a private operator and USAID contracting for the reconstruction of the port continue to move forward. The Government of Haiti’s efforts continue to be ahead of the USAID procurement process, which is by design so that there will be a private sector operator in place prior to USAID undertaking the major construction work.

Working with the national port authority (APN) has been fruitful; training activities targeted the APN leadership and regulators focusing on their primary roles on port regulations at the Cap Haitien Port. Important agreements and concessions by the Government of Haiti and private port operators will make the Cap Haitien port cost-competitive with others on Hispaniola, and will increase Government of Haiti revenue in the long-term. The broader goal is for these regulatory efforts to be adopted by APN for all port operations in Haiti.

Section 5(b)3(B)(iii): A description of United States government efforts to attract and leverage the investments of private sector partners to the CIP, including by addressing any policy impediments.

As of September 2017, the CIP has six industrial tenants producing apparel, paints, and sisal products, and employs close to 12,900 employees and contractors. In 2016, the U.S. government helped the Société Nationale des Parcs Industriels (SONAPI) engage investors from Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Bangladesh, and served as the interlocutor for U.S. brands, such as Gap Inc., UnderArmour, and Lululemon Athletica, including during visits to the CIP. The U.S. government also continued to communicate with U.S. retailers and importers to increase awareness of HOPE/HELP trade preferences. Recently, bills were introduced in the Congress to amend the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to extend the Act to 2030 instead of the current expiration date of 2020. The U.S. government also works with the Government of Haiti and international partners to improve compliance with international and local labor standards and conditions of work. These efforts have contributed $97 million in exports and payrolls close to $12 million for the first 6 months of 2017. The CIP continues to grow at a respectable rate and now accounts for 25 percent of apparel jobs in Haiti.

Section 5(b)(3)(C): A description of the quantitative and qualitative indicators used to evaluate the progress toward meeting the goals and objectives, benchmarks, and timeframes specified in the Strategy at the program level;

Refer to Attachment C: The Description of Indicators (Section 5(b)(3)(C)) Excel Chart (updated as of 9/30/2017)

Section 5(b)(3)(D): The amounts committed, obligated, and expended on programs and activities to implement the Strategy, by sector and by implementing partner at the prime and subprime levels (in amounts of not less than $25,000);

Refer to Attachment B: The Activities List (Sections 5(b)(2) and (3)(D)) Excel Chart (updated as of 9/30/2017)

Section 5(b)(3)(E): A description of the risk mitigation measures put in place to limit the exposure of United States assistance provided under the Strategy to waste, fraud, and abuse;

The risk mitigation measures put in place to limit the exposure of U.S. assistance provided under the Strategy to waste, fraud, and abuse in Haiti include, but are not limited to, the following:

I. USAID

A. The Mission maintains a comprehensive and integrated system of management controls and reviews compliance annually through the Federal Manager’s Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) process.

B. The Contracting Officer (CO) makes a responsibility determination on prospective implementing partners based on a pre-award capability assessment directed by the Controller. Special award conditions are put in place to mitigate risks identified when appropriate.

C. A post-award conference is held with each implementing partner to clearly explain the administrative and financial accountability requirements that they must comply with.

D. All USAID/Haiti programming conforms to the Agency policy (ADS) 201, which sets precise guidelines for performance monitoring, data quality assessment, and evaluation of activities. These monitoring and evaluation measures enable project-level and Mission managers to quickly identify performance issues that are harbingers of waste, fraud, or abuse. Additionally, USAID performs semiannual Portfolio Reviews that raise to senior Mission management critical issues that may warrant the decision to terminate a project or recommend to the Office of the Inspector General the conduct of an audit.

E. The Mission Controller directs an annual audit and financial review planning process in consultation with project managers and oversees the plan implementation and the tracking of recommendations through closure.

F. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) plans and conducts performance audits of all major contracts, and others on an as needed-basis, and the resulting recommendations are addressed through corrective actions that are tracked through closure.

G. Mission staff, implementing partner staff, and external auditors receive mandatory training on a continuing basis to maintain their level of competence in internal controls, fraud awareness, ethics, and compliance.

H. An OIG Hotline was established in 2012 where suspected irregularities can be reported anonymously.

I. The OIG established a satellite office at the USAID/Haiti Mission to perform audits and investigations. The Mission Controller maintains a tracking system of open audits and recommendations to ensure recommendations are closed within the prescribed timeframe. The USAID/Haiti Mission also liaises with the Agency Chief Financial Officer in Washington where an inventory of recommendations and status is maintained and reported on a quarterly basis.

J. The GAO is proactive in conducting audits of programs in Haiti with respect to the assistance provided in response to the earthquake and other special interests at the request of Congress; and

K. The USAID/Haiti Mission is implementing improvements to project design to incorporate sustainability analysis for non-infrastructure as well as infrastructure projects at the design phase.

II. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

The CDC takes seriously its role as a custodian of U.S. taxpayer funds and as such put in place stringent accountability measures for its grantees. Since 2010, CDC has recruited a senior auditor and two mid-level auditors to supplement existing partner management and oversight staff. The audit team supports grantees to review and respond to external audit reports, and to ensure full implementation of corrective action plans, as well as to review budgets and conduct spot-checks of systems. They also provide proactive assistance to organizations to promote compliance with all U.S. government regulations and systems, and to build administrative and financial capacity within local institutions. Finance and management staff also conduct site visits, with an eye towards improving partners’ internal control and tracking systems and institutionalizing appropriate policies and procedures. CDC has continued to provide technical assistance to implementing partners so that they can actively monitor their sub-partners. CDC has also implemented a semi-annual desk review process as part of the comprehensive plan to monitor partner performance when needed. In addition, CDC recruited an individual dedicated to monitoring partners’ renovation projects funded by CDC. This individual conducted contracts reviews to make certain of compliance with U. S. government regulations, conducts both scheduled and unannounced site visits to locations undergoing renovation, and confirms progress reports. The individual does not act on behalf of the partners but rather ensures good stewardship and utilization of U. S. government funds, both for ongoing and past projects. CDC also placed a Public Health Advisor with the MSPP to provide capacity building, review, and improve standard operating procedures and general administrative systems.

III. U.S. Department of State

The Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) retained a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) with construction expertise during this reporting period. Previous INL concerns regarding construction delays related to design and project oversight have been resolved and all major construction projects are projected for completion by December 2017.

In 2014, INL hired a COR dedicated to oversight of U. S. government contracts that support the implementation of key parts of the Haitian National Police Development Plan and the U.S. contribution of police and corrections advisors to the Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH). The COR gives expert advice, guidance, and direction to contractors, which are critical components to contract administration and oversight.

Section 5(b)(4): Provide a description of measures taken to strengthen, and United States government efforts to improve, Haitian governmental and nongovernmental organizational capacity to undertake and sustain United States-supported recovery programs.

Non-Governmental Organizations

Local institutions – private sector partners, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), cooperatives, associations, and universities – serve as engines of growth and opportunity in Haiti. A key part of USAID’s strategy is to improve the capacity of local Haitian institutions and organizations, while at the same time ensuring rigorous oversight of its assistance funds. Empowering the people of Haiti is critical, and USAID is working to help strengthen local organizations through partnerships, in addition to maintaining its close traditional partnership with the Government of Haiti. By forming local partnerships, USAID makes its work more effective and sustainable, and reduces the need for foreign aid over time.

USAID works with Haitian partner organizations to improve the country’s health, agriculture, education, economic, and human rights sectors. To expand its network of local partners, USAID regularly holds outreach events for Haitian and Haitian diaspora groups outlining how to work with USAID, highlighting opportunities tailored to these organizations. For example, USAID has hosted outreach events targeting more than 230 local organizations in Port-au-Prince, St. Marc and Cap Haïtien regions.

• Building the capacity of local civil society and non-government organizations: In order to facilitate increased opportunities for direct funding to local partners, USAID launched a Capacity Development Hub, Konbit, which provides management, administrative and financial services to current and potential Haitian partners and implementers and ensures USAID solicitations reach local audiences.

• Helping farmers grow a stronger agriculture sector: USAID works with local organizations to equip farmers with tools and knowledge needed to thrive. USAID and the Fondation Haïtienne de Développement Agricole Durable (Haitian Sustainable Agricultural Development Foundation) are operationalizing two grain processing centers for maize and sorghum, and improving access to motorized agricultural equipment for small-scale farmers. Working with AGRITECH, USAID is establishing a model low-cost traceability system for mangoes in order to comply with U.S. regulations and help small-scale Haitian mango producers reach American markets. Finally, USAID, the Montrouis Management Association for the Rural Centers of Sustainable Development and the Association of Irrigators of Côte des Arcadins are protecting farming irrigation systems serving nearly 1,200 hectares by improving shoreline protection of ravines.

Improving water, sanitation, and hygiene practices: USAID is addressing the root cause of many public health and environmental issues in Haiti by working with local partners. For example, USAID and Fonkoze are reducing open-air defecation in 10 communities by linking sanitation lessons with a successful pre-existing micro-credit program to help local groups fund sanitation facilities. USAID is also working with Zanmi Lasante in the central plateau and the J/P Haitian Relief Organization in Port-au-Prince’s Delmas 32 neighborhood to improve access to safe drinking water, renovate bathroom facilities, and educate staff, students, parents, and community members.

Training skilled workers and assisting Haitian businesses: USAID is working with local organizations to improve Haiti’s economy. Working with the Youth Development Initiative in Port-au-Prince and Build Change in Cap Haïtien, USAID is strengthening the workforce in the apparel and construction sectors by providing training, apprenticeship, and certification that will enable enrollees to successfully compete in the formal marketplace. Partnering with the Training and Coaching Center, USAID is also helping to formalize and enhance the growth potential of the micro-, small- and medium sized enterprises of the Côte-des-Arcadins and St. Marc areas.

Improving access to quality health services: USAID also supports a network of approximately 20 local NGO partners that manage over 60 health facilities through its Health Services Delivery Project.

Government of Haiti

Some of the most significant steps to increase local capacity are in the health sector. The U.S. government’s overall goal in its health sector strategy is to help build the Government of Haiti’s capacity to provide citizens with quality health care in the future, while ensuring Haitians receive the health care they need now. In the past, the health sector was characterized by limited government capacity to provide services or to regulate the quality of private sector service provision. While the U.S. government is supporting the provision of a basic package of health services, strides are also being made to improve the capacity of the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) to take on a larger role in managing and regulating the country’s health care services. Through USAID, the U.S. government is promoting overall health system strengthening through work with the MSPP, including departmental health authorities and district health units. Haiti’s health ministry is the pilot line ministry for USAID-funded reforms in public financial management and government contracting. Capacity building assistance implemented through USAID is helping the MSPP improve data collection and usage, upgrade internal management systems, manage diverse funding sources, and improve its ability to attract, train, and retain professional health workers, and improve internal governance, transparency, and accountability. USAID has also assisted the MSPP in formalizing and publishing key national health policies and regulations aimed at ensuring quality of nurse training, pharmacy management, community-based care and other areas.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury also provided support in improving financial management of Haiti’s health ministry, which is the pilot ministry for a government-wide initiative to set up a direct deposit system. The Ministry is also performing an employee verification that will help to regularize payments and identify ghost employees and fraud.

As USAID is completing its involvement in new settlements, the work with the Government of Haiti’s social housing unit (EPPLS) is winding down. Assistance with training and capacity building of EPPLS has ended with progress made on their ability to effectively collect rents at the Caracol-EKAM and DLA 1.5 sites. Likewise, USAID is completing its support to strengthen the Unite de Construction de Logements et de Batiments Publics (UCLBP), which was set up within the Prime Minister’s Office in 2013 to oversee national-level policy making for the housing and settlements sector.

With the movement to privatize the operation and maintenance of the Cap Haitien Port, USAID is funding technical assistance to strengthen the broader ports regulatory role of the National Ports Authority (APN). Training has been provided to the higher-level staff and additional sessions for mid-level officers are planned for later 2017.

USAID is supporting the Government of Haiti with needed expertise within government ministries and agencies under the KONEKTE (KONesans E Konpetans TEknik) project KONEKTE is working with the Haitian government by improving accountability, and transparency within the public sector. Implemented at the central government level, KONEKTE placed seventeen technical advisors in various Haitian government entities in 2017. These advisors provided technical expertise to the senior leadership of these agencies in several areas including but not limited to, information technology, contract management, and monitoring and evaluation. The Information Technology Unit of the Ministry of Finances and the Office of Management and Human Resources (OMRH) are among the entities that benefited from that assistance. The technical support resulted in the production of legal, technical, and administrative guidelines and tools to support the Haitian government reforms. Among these guidelines is a contract management guide, an evaluation forms for the procurement of goods and services, and voucher templates. These tools lay out the proper information needed for sound procurement decisions. Moreover, KONKETE’s advisors helped raised awareness on how contracts for public sector contractors should be evaluated. Under the authority of the OMRH, the advisors conducted site visits to 24 Haitian government institutions to explain to mid-level managers the process for evaluating public procurements. KONEKTE’s embedded advisor in OMRH also participated in a working committee that conducted an institutional audit of two Haitian government entities. This committee was created upon the request of the Prime Minister’s Office. This audit should enable the Prime Minister to have all the relevant information regarding the administrative functioning of these two entities and suggest options that may be used for a possible reorganization. In addition, KONEKTE’s advisors supported the OMRH’s Communication Unit to learn how to develop its communications plan and media plan.

USAID’s Food for Peace Title II development program aims to reduce risks and vulnerabilities to food insecurity by increasing food availability, access, and consumption. The program is supporting the Government of Haiti to build and institutionalize their national safety net system. The program works directly with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, the Ministry of Health, and other government entities to identify the most vulnerable households and school students for targeted food voucher distribution, nutritional outreach and education, and disaster risk reduction measures.

Working with local governments under the LOKAL+ (Limiye ak Oganizasyon pou Kolektivite yo Ale Lwen) project, USAID is strengthening the capability of municipal governments to better provide services by consulting citizens, planning strategically, budgeting realistically, managing funds transparently, and executing projects efficiently. These activities are demonstrating that the local government can deliver services and results to its citizens in the nine target municipalities of Delmas, Cap Haitien, Ouanaminthe, Saint-Marc, Limonade, Caracol, Carrefour, Kenscoff, and Acul-du-Nord. Each municipality has drafted a local development plan in consultation with local citizens for projects to be financed from local revenues. Local development project committees have been created, which consist of government and civil society representatives: each commune’s director-general, the accountant, the engineer, and a member of the commune’s Citizen Consultative Council (CCC). The communes’ CCCs are umbrella groups of civic leaders including church leaders, business leaders, and leaders of local community-based organizations, the latter including women’s groups and youth associations. LOKAL+ created the CCCs in order to focus citizen efforts to advise the municipalities on establishing development priorities, to advocate on behalf of communities, and to participate annually in the commune’s budget-making and budget execution processes.

The U.S. Department of Labor is supporting capacity building of Haitian institutions via a multi-year program to improve the labor inspection and mediation services of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. This program is providing technical training and critical resources to a task force of labor inspectors working in the apparel sector, a key industry in the Haitian economy.

Capacity building of local Haitian governmental and nongovernmental institutions is a core priority of the United States’ efforts via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). On the administrative side, CDC staff maintains close relationships with local counterparts, spending approximately 50 percent of their time in the field with partners, conducting site visits, trainings, and financial reviews. They provide daily mentorship and guidance to local organizations to build their capacity in management of human resources, development of budgets, creation of work plans, and implementation of standard operating procedures. To promote sustainability, CDC has linked international and local institutions so they may share best practices and lessons learned. As organizations become more successful, CDC helps them craft success stories to attract other financing and accelerate resource diversification.

On the technical front, CDC medical officers, epidemiologists, veterinarians, nurses, laboratory workers, and other public health staff provide daily mentorship and long-term capacity building of Haitian counterparts. CDC has 21 positions co-located within the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), including within the main office in Port-au-Prince and within regional hospitals in five departments. These individuals, along with CDC staff stationed within the U.S. Embassy and in CDC-Atlanta, have conducted training for colleagues at local governmental and non-governmental institutions on a wide range of technical issues, including HIV/AIDS care and treatment, tuberculosis, cholera, maternal and child health, malaria, chikungunya, zika, rabies, lymphatic filariasis, and other communicable and non-communicable diseases. The technical expertise which CDC has built in Haiti has enabled the country to take on greater leadership of key programs, including the CDC flagship Field Epidemiology Training Program, which is now coordinated, managed, and supervised by senior staff of MSPP, many of whom are graduates of the program.

Programs run by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) are developed in consultation with and implemented with the support of the Government of Haiti, and police programs are consistent with the Haitian National Police (HNP) five-year development plan. Long-term sustainability remains a major concern, and programs work to help address the Haitian government’s ability to budget for and sustain the police force. To strengthen and improve the capacity of the HNP, the U.S. government, through INL, provides training by bringing subject matter expert advisors to HNP personnel to help strengthen management, administrative, and logistics functions within the police force.

Section 5(b)(5): As appropriate, a description of United States efforts to consult and engage with Government of Haiti ministries and local authorities on the establishment of goals and timeframes, and on the design and implementation of new programs under the Post-Earthquake USG Haiti Strategy: Toward Renewal and Economic Opportunity.

The Government of Haiti has been actively working to assert its leadership in setting priorities for programs implemented by international donors and NGOs. In the past, many of these organizations bypassed the Government of Haiti’s direction or working partnerships, citing weakness and inefficiencies or simply failure to act and spend public funds properly. In November 2012, the Government of Haiti launched a new framework for the coordination of external development aid (the “CAED”) to succeed the 2010 Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC). Key objectives of the CAED include: increasing the Government of Haiti’s capacity to effectively manage the country’s development process; yielding coherent, harmonized, and coordinated support from all international partners; greater alignment of international funds to national development goals and investment programs; and increasing results-based reporting and transparency. Since its inception, the U.S. government has been one of the strongest champions of the Government of Haiti donor coordination mechanisms and the spirit of collaboration they embody.

The Moise administration recently renewed the Haitian government emphasis on donor coordination and communication. In June 2017, the Haitian government revived the Comité d’Efficacité de l’Aide (CEA), a high-level donor meeting presided over by the Prime Minister and attended by the heads of all major donor organizations including USAID. The next CEA meeting is expected in December 2017. The Haitian government has also revived the system of Tables Sectorielles, which are periodic sector-level meetings between donor organizations and relevant Haitian government institutions. Each Table Sectorielle has an associated Groupe Sectoriel, a group of donor organizations active in the particular sector who meet regularly to ensure that programs are complementary and not duplicative and to share best practices and information. USAID leads the State Reform Groupe Sectoriel and is an active member in the agriculture, water and sanitation, education, energy, environment, health, justice, gender, housing, disaster preparedness, local governance, social protection, and public finance Groupes Sectoriels.

As noted in the response to section 5(b)(3)(B)(ii), to support the Government of Haiti’s development plan for the North, the Government of Haiti requested that the United States, via USAID, support improved port services for the region. In 2013, the U.S. government and the Government of Haiti created a ports task force to jointly review the findings of port feasibility studies in order to determine tasks and timelines. In August 2014, the Government of Haiti officially agreed to pursue private sector upgrading of the Cap Haitien Port to meet the near- to medium-term import and export needs for the region. The agreement letter, signed by the Government of Haiti and USAID, details the responsibilities of each party, and describes a projected timeline to complete the work. With the decision by the Government of Haiti to focus on rehabilitating and upgrading the existing Cap Haitien port, USAID and the Government of Haiti jointly developed a master plan that outlines the parameters for an improved port. USAID and the Haitian government are implementing parallel procurement actions. USAID is funding the landside and marine construction activities that will result in a modern container port operation. USAID also financed assistance for the Government of Haiti to procure the services of a private sector entity to operate and maintain the improved port for a period of 25 years. Both sets of procurement actions are ongoing.

USAID engages at multiple levels with Haiti’s health ministry. The new Minister, Dr. Marie Greta Roy Clément, recently re-launched the Table Sectorielle, the quarterly donor coordination platform led by the Minister of Health. USAID is actively engaged in both the Table Sectorielle and in the monthly health donor coordination group led by the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO). In addition, as the pilot line ministry for reforms in public financial management and government contracting, USAID capacity building assistance is helping the Ministry of Health to improve data collection and usage, upgrade internal management systems, manage diverse funding sources, and improve its ability to attract, train and retain professional health workers, and improve internal governance, transparency and accountability. USAID is working with the Ministry of Health and the World Bank to strengthen oversight and improve service provision through results­based financing. As implementation is now underway, results‑based financing is beginning to incentivize performance at the health facility level by linking bonus payments directly to priority health outcomes (e.g. a facility receives a bonus payment if they surpass a targeted number of new consultations, institutional births, etc.). Results-based financing is being implemented at both Ministry-supported and non-governmental organization health facilities with the objectives of increased management capacity and oversight by the Ministry of Health and improved health outcomes.

USAID also collaborates with the Ministry of Justice, the justice committees in the senate and the chamber, and the High Judicial Council (CSPJ) – the management and oversight body of the judiciary. In 2017, USAID provided significant technical and logistical support to the CSPJ. This support enabled the CSPJ’s Judicial Inspection Unit to conduct 13 judicial inspections and investigations. USAID also assisted the CSPJ in the development of a career and promotion plan for judges and to prepare the CSPJ’s 2016-2017 annual report. With USAID’s support, the CSPJ vetting unit developed a new, less costly and more effective methodology for vetting judges. USAID also provided training to CSPJ staff on protocol, which led to the CSPJ establishing a Protocol Unit. At the local level and specifically in USAID’s five target jurisdictions, USAID provided technical and logistical support to local courts and prosecutors’ offices. This assistance enabled the head of jurisdictions to lead forums to strengthen coordination among stakeholders (e.g. police, justice, prisons, and civil society organizations) in each jurisdiction. With significant USAID support, the draft legislation on legal assistance was finalized and adopted by the senate. The chamber of deputies is expected to vote positively on the legislation in the coming months. If passed, this legislation would represent the first of its kind in Haiti, institutionalizing legal assistance as a responsibility of the State, both for indigent persons in conflict with the law and victims of crime, and providing consultations and mediation services free of charge. USAID is helping the Ministry of Justice to plan for implementation of the law. While the law is making its way through Parliament, USAID established legal assistance programs in four of its target jurisdictions. Two hundred and one individuals have already benefited from this assistance. These law clinics will progressively phase out, as the national program is rolled out.

Working with local governments under the LOKAL+ (Limiye ak Oganizasyon pou Kolektivite yo Ale Lwen) project, USAID is strengthening the capability of municipal governments to better provide services by consulting citizens, planning strategically, budgeting realistically, managing funds transparently, and executing projects efficiently. These activities are demonstrating that the local government can deliver services and results to its citizens in the nine target municipalities of Delmas, Cap Haitien, Ouanaminthe, Saint-Marc, Limonade, Caracol, Carrefour, Kenscoff, and Acul-du-Nord. Each municipality has drafted a local development plan in consultation with local citizens for projects to be financed from local revenues. Local development project committees have been created which consist of government and civil society representatives: each commune’s director-general, the accountant, the engineer, and a member of the commune’s Citizen Consultative Council (CCC). The communes’ CCCs are umbrella groups of civic leaders including church leaders, business leaders, and leaders of local community-based organizations, the latter including women’s groups and youth associations. LOKAL+ created the CCCs in order to focus citizen efforts to advise the municipalities on establishing development priorities, to advocate on behalf of communities, and to participate annually in the commune’s budget-making and budget execution processes.

In our shelter program, USAID has adopted a new approach to achieve greater cost efficiency and sustainability. The redirected program supports the Government of Haiti’s revised housing policy that promotes work in existing formal and informal neighborhoods. This new approach capitalizes and leverages the demonstrated ability of low-income Haitian households to build with their own resources. USAID emphasizes work that reinforces community governance structures, including formally registered housing cooperative organizations that oversee management of new neighborhoods. Another element of the new housing focus is to promote greater involvement of the private sector in addressing the housing stock shortfall. Two aspects of private sector involvement include: supporting financing institutions with funding mortgage‑type instruments for low and medium income households, and assisting housing developers to build safer houses for low to medium income households.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) continuously consults with counterparts within the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) and other Government of Haiti institutions regarding the strategic and technical direction of existing and new programs. CDC leadership meets frequently with the Minister of Health, Director General, and other key program managers to discuss priorities and timelines, particularly during U.S. government and the Government of Haiti planning seasons. CDC technical and administrative staff works with departmental and community colleagues on a daily basis to refine work plans, budgets, and implementation strategies to help overcome bottlenecks and adapt to new needs. CDC also continues to strengthen the MSPP funding management unit so the Government of Haiti can also seek and apply for other funding opportunities.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Section in Port-au-Prince meets regularly with Haitian government counterparts to discuss programs and related progress. INL evaluates each implementing agreement via regular meetings, phone calls, reviews of implementers’ progress reports, and the completion of quarterly reviews of programs against established goals and objectives. INL uses information from its regular oversight and monitoring activities, as well as its Haiti Country Plan, consistent with the Post Earthquake U.S. government Strategy for Haiti, to inform programmatic and budgetary choices.

As the current strategy period comes to an end and in order to inform the next USAID strategic framework, the USAID/Haiti Mission held individual strategic consultations with 16 Haitian government ministries and/or bureaus and ten donor agencies and five UN agencies; two consultative strategic fora with more than 700 civil society, local government, religious leaders and/or implementing partners; and a diaspora roundtable with an estimated 30 representatives from key diaspora organizations. These consultations are in addition to the myriad civil society and Haitian government representatives consulted for the purposes of the democracy, human rights, and governance assessment; the gender assessment; the youth assessment; the biodiversity and tropical forestry assessment; the political economy analysis; and the private sector landscape assessment. USAID/Haiti technical offices have also consulted widely with their respective line ministries, bilateral and multilateral partners in the development of Project Appraisal Documents (PAD) and activity designs this year. For example, the Health Office consulted widely with MSPP leadership and partners from the health donor group in the development of the Health Systems Strengthening PAD now in final clearance stages to ensure the complementarity of USAID investments. Those consultations signaled that agriculture, education, and economic development were key priorities of all consulted, which aligns with the new strategic framework.

Section 5(b)(6): A description of efforts by Haiti’s legislative and executive branches to consult and engage with Haitian civil society and grassroots organizations on the establishment of goals and timeframes, and on the design and implementation of new donor-financed programs, as well as efforts to coordinate with and engage the Haitian diaspora;

One of the core principles of the U.S. government strategy for Haiti is that U.S. government assistance will be country-led and build country capacity. To that end, we work to encourage Haiti’s government leaders to consult actively with civil society and grassroots organizations so our Government of Haiti counterparts can provide informed guidance to us and other donors as we design and implement our programs; election delays and unpredictable changes in Haitian government leadership have sometimes made these efforts particularly challenging.

USAID actively promotes the ability of civil society organizations (CSOs) and grassroots organizations to engage with Haitian government officials at both the national and local levels. For instance:

• Under the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening project, USAID supported civil society activities related to the 2015-2016 parliamentary and presidential electoral cycle. These included a series of presidential candidate debates, which established a precedent for presidential candidates to campaign on issues affecting the Haitian populace and nine dialogues through which women’s organizations and other civil society groups and local authorities discussed ways to increase women’s political participation in Haiti.

• USAID supported the creation of a nationwide nonpartisan Haitian election observation coalition called the Citizen Observatory for the Institutionalization of Democracy (OCID) to monitor the pre-election environment and introduce globally-proven election observation methodologies to Haiti to strengthen local elections monitoring. OCID is comprised of three organizations: Initiative de la Societe Civile (ISC), Centre Oecumenique des Droits Humains (CEDH) and JURIMEDIA. OCID’s main areas of monitoring are human rights promotion, citizen participation, political party representation, the electoral process, and public policies. OCID was the only domestic observation group utilizing statistically-based observation methodology during their monitoring efforts. As a result, they were able to project election results within a small margin of error at approximately the same time as the official election results were released, ensuring they could hold the election commission accountable for releasing accurate electoral results.

• Working with local governments under the LOKAL+ (Limiye ak Oganizasyon pou Kolektivite yo Ale Lwen) project, USAID is helping municipal governments to better provide services by consulting citizens, planning strategically, budgeting realistically, managing funds transparently, and executing projects efficiently. These activities are demonstrating that the local government can deliver services and results to its citizens in the nine target municipalities of Delmas, Cap-Haitien, Ouanaminthe, Saint-Marc, Limonade, Caracol, Carrefour, Kenscoff, and Acul-du-Nord. Each municipality has drafted a local development plan in consultation with local citizens for projects to be financed from local revenues. To focus citizen efforts to advise the municipalities on development priorities, advocate on behalf of communities, serve on local project committees, and participate in the commune’s annual budget-making and budget execution processes, LOKAL+ created Citizen Consultative Councils (CCCs), umbrella groups of civic leaders including church and business leaders, and leaders of local community-based organizations including women’s groups and youth associations.

USAID is also prioritizing the strengthening of civil society participation as a critical tool in implementing more efficient and effective programming. The USAID/Haiti Konbit Program supports civil society strengthening and the participation of CSOs in program implementation. Konbit is designed to increase the number of local development partners who are influencing and achieving significant and sustainable development results in Haiti, are accountable to their constituents, and are able to effectively compete for and manage resources. The project facilitates synergies among CSOs and the organizational capacity development of CSOs. USAID/Haiti has established a state of the art interactive website called the “Capacity Development Hub” that will be used to: (1) set up and coordinate the provision of local capacity development services; (2) create a Development Innovation Network; and, (3) develop and implement monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities that accurately gauge project progress and promote improved program results. There is also a small grants program that offers technical assistance to local partners to promote innovations in development activities.

Through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the U. S. government maintains strong collaboration with the Government of Haiti to identify projects and seek to promote sustainability on security issues. INL liaises with other international partners of the Haitian National Police (HNP) via the Supreme Council of the National Police and through the HNP-created donor committee that monitors implementation of the 2017-2021 development plan. Via INL, the U.S. government also engages civil society groups on issues such as anti-corruption, judicial reform, and HNP protection of vulnerable populations. This outreach has helped inform INL-supported training programs and affected solicitation design. New York Police Department officers funded through INL mentored the HNP Community Policing Unit to launch a youth outreach program in February 2015 aimed at civic education, fitness, and recruiting young people interested in law enforcement careers. This Haitian-led outreach by the community police was coupled with continued programming to engage community leaders and grassroots organizers through town hall meetings and public events, drawing citizens from some of Port-au-Prince’s most troubled neighborhoods into more regular dialogue with the police. INL continues to support this Community Policing Unit through an embedded subject matter expert.

The Office of the Citizen Protector, the country’s independent human rights ombudsperson, continued its investigations into allegations of human rights abuses, worked collaboratively with international organizations, and implemented its assistance programs throughout the country.

Diaspora Engagement

USAID has been working to achieve economic growth and development through the engagement of the Haitian diaspora, a powerful ally of both the U.S. and Haiti in reaching the shared goal of a continually growing Haiti. Since 2011, through the Leveraging Effective Applications of Direct investments (LEAD) activity, USAID has been implementing a series of activities that directly targeted the diaspora. In conjunction with the Ministry of Haitians Living Abroad, and Haitian Diaspora institutions, LEAD implemented a series of roads shows in key cities in the United States such as Miami, Boston, Atlanta, New York, and Chicago, to inform the Haitian diaspora community on economic opportunities in Haiti. As a result of their engagement in the LEAD project, 15 of the 46 businesses competitively selected to receive matching funds were diaspora owned, and 12 social development projects were jointly funded by LEAD and diaspora groups in Haiti. Community-development projects include investments in agriculture, education, health, and water and sanitation. LEAD also sponsored a Diaspora Challenge Initiative that collected innovative ideas with high potential to make a significant difference in the business ecosystem in Haiti.

Section 5(b)(7): Consistent with the Government of Haiti’s ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, a description of efforts of the Governments of the United States and Haiti to strengthen Government of Haiti institutions established to address corruption, as well as related efforts to promote public accountability, meet public outreach and disclosure obligations, and support civil society participation in anti-corruption efforts:

Haiti is a signatory to the UN Convention against Corruption and the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, and in May 2014, Haiti passed the much-anticipated Law on the Prevention and Repression of Corruption. The law gives new legal authority to the government’s Anticorruption Unit (ULCC) and its Financial Intelligence Unit, among others, to combat corruption. Haiti demonstrated some level of commitment in FY 2017 to tackle corruption within the public sector. During the year, the ULCC launched a national outreach campaign to sensitize the general population to offenses addressed by the new law. The ULCC also opened a national hotline that remained active, although underutilized, to field complaints that in some instances led to investigations. Law enforcement authorities and the government’s anticorruption agencies launched several investigations that led to the dismissal and arrest of some government officials. Although the government continued to implement legal, administrative, and management reforms designed to increase accountability in several ministries and government institutions, the perception of corruption remained widespread in all branches and at all levels.

The U.S. government, primarily through USAID, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), and the Department of the Treasury, works to improve transparency and accountability and combat corruption on a number of fronts.

USAID

To strengthen the Haitian government’s public financial management systems, USAID has been providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Tax Authority, the Office of Management and Human Resources, and the Programming and Analysis Units of the Ministry of Planning. USAID worked with the Ministry of Economy and Finance to implement the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), which resulted in a single network linking the 51 budget institutions in the Port-au-Prince area and the provision of hardware, software, and training to 13 of the Haitian government’s largest budget institutions to facilitate the efficient and secure exchange of data. In 2014-2015, USAID facilitated linking the Office of Management and Human Resources’ management system to the payroll system of the Ministry of Economy and Finance in an effort to eliminate ghost workers. In 2017, the USAID-funded IFMS project completed the renovation of the Ministry of Economy and Finance Network Operation Center and equipped it with state of the art servers; repaired 20 IFMS network sites and started installing new communication equipment; developed two Unified Exchange Platform web services for five institutions so they could exchange information more efficiently and securely; connected 10 municipalities’ tax collection operations with the central Tax Authority (DGI) office; connected two regional Supreme Audit Institutions offices with the DGI central office to facilitate the audit of municipal finances; provided information technology equipment to 13 regional DGI sites to connect them to the central office; and developed new functionalities for the Human Resources Management System, including on-boarding of new civil servants, monthly affirmation, career management, and a payroll interface with the Treasury.

USAID funded several activities of Haitian civil society organizations (CSOs) to improve transparency and address corruption, including support for the local organization Group Croissance on “Civil Society in Haiti’s Budgetary Process.” This activity worked to: (1) strengthen Haitian civil society’s role in understanding and analyzing the Haitian national budget; (2) support the Government of Haiti’s executive branch and the Parliament in the drafting and adoption of the Haitian national budget; and (3) inform Haitian citizens about the Government of Haiti’s finances and funding priorities. Activities included a national survey on development priorities, a series of four documentary films, print and electronic media outreach on the budget process, training for CSO and ministry representatives, and publication and dissemination of analyses on the Haitian national budget.

INL

To improve the accountability of the Haitian National Police (HNP) and facilitate reform, INL supports the Inspector General’s office with direct mentorship to enhance HNP capacity to perform internal police investigations, exercise effective command and control over the force, and ensure adherence to policies and procedures. Through direct mentoring and in coordination with UN Police officers, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) on October 15, 2017 transitioned to a police-only successor mission the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) on October 16, 2017. The Office of the Inspector General made notable progress in combatting corruption and police abuses through recruiting new investigators, developing investigation standards, reviewing case files by committee, and completing investigations leading to the dismissal of more than 800 police since 2014 for issues ranging from absence from post to criminal conduct. The current Chief Inspector General (IG) continued to take an activist approach to imposing internal HNP discipline, including overseeing continued investigations and vetting of police officers, with ongoing attention to high-ranking officers. New York Police Department officers delivered training to investigators and mid-level HNP officers on corruption and monitoring for integrity until this program ended in March 2017. The IG’s office worked to maintain transparency and visibility by conducting regular site visits of police stations to monitor performance and by holding regular press conferences with the public. The press conferences continue to describe the role of the HNP and its specialized units’ responsibilities to the general public. The IG office monitors complaint lines for citizens to report any types of police misbehavior and conducts outreach with local and international human rights groups.

The U.S. government supported the creation of a comprehensive, independent Judicial Inspection Unit (JIU) within the Superior Council of Judicial Power through an INL grant with the American Bar Association (ABA). This grant, which ended in March 2017, included support for the development of a strategic plan, procedures, and methodologies for inspection, assistance in enforcing judicial fee scale, and establishing a pilot office for the JIU. Eleven experienced judges were appointed JIU inspectors by the end of the program. The ABA trained a total of 3,442 justice sector actors on basic and specialized skills since the program’s inception.

Department of the Treasury

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has worked closely with the Government of Haiti to increase the effectiveness and transparency of financial management systems. A Treasury Single Account banking structure was implemented by the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH), and 624 government bank accounts have closed since October 2013. A BRH bank account portal has been created, which gives the Ministry of Finance/Treasury the ability to see daily balances of all accounts listed in the portal for the BRH. A direct deposit system is being set up for the entire government, with the Ministry of Health serving as the first ministry to implement the project. With the assistance of the Revenue branch of Treasury’s Office of Technical Assistance, major aspects of the Large Taxpayer Office (LTO) have been reviewed and re-engineered. The LTO has implemented an audit plan process, risk assessment, auditor time sheets and activity logs, as well as a quality review of cases. From December 2013 through September 2017, Haiti’s Tax Authority expanded from seven to 18 computerized office sites, with plans for at least seven more offices to be established in 2018. In September 2017, the Tax Authority began rollout of its new revenue management system and expects complete deployment of the system in 2018, including the introduction of e-filing for large taxpayers. Implementing automated processes will increase transparency and reduce opportunities for corruption.

Section 5(b)(8): A description of efforts to leverage public-private partnerships and increase the involvement of the private sector in Haiti in recovery and development activities and coordinate programs with the private sector and other donors;

Haiti’s private sector is an essential contributor to the country’s long-term economic development and vitality. The Haitian economy continues to be primarily driven by micro‑, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which have the potential to be strong engines of economic growth and create thousands of new jobs. However, MSMEs often are not well managed and have difficulties raising capital, and so are limited in their ability to grow. To address this challenge, the U.S. government, working through USAID, has used several mechanisms to meet the business development and financial needs of targeted MSMEs. For example, under the Local Enterprise and Value Chain Enhancement project, the U.S. government provides technical assistance and business development services to MSMEs to strengthen their management and improve product quality. The Leveraging Effective Application of Direct Investments project aims to attract investments in Haitian MSMEs by using a matching grant competition mechanism to leverage private investments and to strengthen their balance sheets to make them more credit worthy. USAID’ s Development Credit Authority (DCA) makes it easier for enterprises to access bank credit by guaranteeing 50 percent of commercial bank loans to qualified firms. The combined impact of these kinds of measures has helped strengthen and build the capacity of more than 1,000 Haitian MSMEs and thus contributed significantly to the development and growth of the Haitian economy. Additionally, under some DCA and other programs specifically designed for housing and agriculture, the U.S. government reached more than 38,000 beneficiaries.

Via USAID, the U.S. government is also involved in specific public-private partnerships with medium and large firms in projects that are scalable over time and create opportunities for sustainable income growth for Haitian workers. Large firms, private foundations and multilateral institutions such as the Coca-Cola Company, the Soros Economic Development Fund, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Heineken, Yunus Social Business Haiti, General Electric, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, General Electric Foundation, Porticus America, and the Inter-American Development Bank have entered into a series of partnerships with USAID.

For infrastructure activities, the bulk of the larger construction work is performed by Haitian private sector subcontractors. Working through USAID, the U.S. government has supported vocational training to prepare Haitians for jobs in other sectors, including para-seismic masonry, agriculture, marine ecosystem monitoring, geographic information systems, and hospitality management.

Section 5(b)(9): A description of efforts to address the particular needs of vulnerable populations, including internally displaced persons, women, children, orphans, and persons with disabilities, in the design and implementation of new programs and infrastructure;

USAID/Haiti works with local partner organizations advocating for women’s rights including the prevention of gender-based violence (GBV), which remains a widespread problem in Haiti. The risk of violence against and sexual exploitation of women and girls is exacerbated by poverty, poor security, and a lack of awareness. Sustained engagement is required to reduce vulnerability through legislative action, community outreach, increased literacy, and economic empowerment.

USAID’s “Konbat Vyolans” project is working to improve advocacy and awareness around GBV, and to increase survivors’ access to integrated direct services, including crisis support, emergency shelter and transitional housing, medical care and referral services, counselling, psychosocial care and support, legal advocacy, and economic opportunities. The project supports organizations that assist the most vulnerable populations especially children, youth, and women who are survivors or at risk of GBV by providing them with or referring them to appropriate services to prevent and/or respond to exploitation, violence and abuse. Konbat Vyolans coordinates activities closely with the Ministry of Female Status and the Rights of Women (MCFDF) to strengthen the justice system, Parliament and other institutions (such as the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor – MAST and Haitian Social Services – IBESR, to advance GBV policy, legislation, capacity building, and prevention goals. Finally, the project will develop a communication platform for providers of health, legal, economic, and psycho‑social services to GBV survivors to share context-specific best practices and lessons learned.

A central tenet of the U.S. government health strategy in Haiti is addressing the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. Through the Bien-être ak santé timoun (BEST) project, USAID supports children affected and infected by HIV/AIDS in Haiti to grow into healthy, educated young adults free from violence and the ill-effects of HIV. The Project operates in communities across Haiti to ensure that healthcare needs are met for HIV positive pregnant women and mothers, HIV positive children and young people 0-18 years of age, and HIV positive orphans and vulnerable children including HIV negative children living in areas of high HIV prevalence. USAID supports programming in 145 hospitals/clinics in all of the country’s 10 departments.

Under its health infrastructure program, USAID retrofitted a number of clinics and schools with access ramps and railings, where possible, widening the doorway openings to provide improved access for the disabled. In addition, the houses for the new settlement programs are designed with door openings and bathrooms that can accommodate people with disabilities.

Following the emergency phase immediately after the 2010 earthquake, USAID worked to address the housing needs of internally displaced persons. Via USAID, the U.S. government reached more than 65,600 households by providing shelter solutions, including transitional shelters (t-shelters), repairs to damaged houses, support to host families who housed displaced people, and rental vouchers. USAID partners constructed more than 29,100 t-shelters, repaired more than 5,800 structures to shelter more than 8,100 households, and provided housing support to more than 27,200 households and rental vouchers to roughly 1,200 households, thereby housing more than 328,000 individuals.

USAID is promoting inclusive education for students with visual impairments. Collaborating with the Societe Haitienne d’Aide aux Aveugles (Haitian Society for Aid to the Blind), a local NGO, USAID is increasing access to quality education for children who are blind or visually impaired in Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien. This project will mainstream 250 students with visual impairments into classrooms, provide needed resources for the visually impaired, and print books in braille and audio to be reproduced for more schools around the country. USAID is also improving access for students with disabilities in the education sector. USAID retrofitted 19 primary schools to accommodate students with physical disabilities and provided disability awareness training to more than 660 teachers and school principals. More than 62,000 community members, 400 parents, and 800 school staff also participated in disability awareness programs.

Via the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), through March 31, 2017, U.S. government assistance supported an embedded mentor in the Haitian National Police’s (HNP) Women’s Affairs department on combatting GBV. This advisor, alongside HNP Women’s Affairs officers, delivered training on countering violence against women at police stations around Haiti, reaching approximately 500 officers. In April 2017, this position was expanded to include community policing. The advisor was instrumental in assisting the HNP to recruit and retain female police cadets through the screening and class selection process for the 27th Promotion, resulting in the graduation of 80 women (8.5 percent of the class) in 2017. In FY 2014, INL funded the participation of two HNP curriculum developers in the International Police and Education and Training Program on improving police response to crimes against marginalized groups. Working with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, mentors from the Washington, DC, Metro Police and Miami Beach Police Department, the HNP developed a training curriculum to raise awareness among cadets about the LGBTQ community and protection of human rights. The HNP now includes this curriculum in basic cadet training. Through FY 2017, 2,418 cadets received this training.

Section 5(b)(10): A description of the impact that agriculture and infrastructure programs are having on the food security, livelihoods, and land tenure security of smallholder farmers, particularly women;

The combined effect of increased yields, better natural resource management, and the strengthening of markets has had a positive impact on food security by significantly increasing incomes, improving livelihoods, and expanding access to nutritious food for beneficiary farmers. The introduction of new technology, coupled with appropriate inputs and the rehabilitation of irrigation systems, in some cases allowed farmers to double or triple yields of focus crops.

Beneficiary farmers have seen substantial increases in yields of plantains, rice, and cacao with assistance from USAID. Rice farmers in the northern regions of Haiti tripled their yields over the past three years. Similarly, the value of the cacao exports has quadrupled since 2013. Banana farmers in the West Department of Haiti reported yield increases of more than 100 percent when utilizing new technologies introduced by USAID.

USAID built the capacity of local institutions to support agricultural systems in Haiti. As part of an interagency agreement and with the support of the USDA, USAID conducted a pilot soil mapping exercise that helps farmers identify productive soils. This effort was complemented by the establishment of new soil and plant pathology laboratories at one of the Centers for Sustainable Rural Development that USAID supports. USAID also partnered with U.S. universities and international research organizations to improve seed production and introduce new high yielding bean and corn varieties to Haiti. To help create a new cadre of agricultural researchers and technicians, USAID sponsored more than 20 Haitian students to earn master’s degrees in the United States.

On the hillsides above the productive plains, USAID has worked to reverse decades of damage caused by unsustainable practices. In cooperation with our partners, USAID constructed gabion walls in ravines and planted more than five million fruit and forest trees, as well as ground cover on vulnerable hillsides with the result of increased water infiltration and reduced soil erosion. USAID also supported the establishment of environmentally friendly, income producing agroforestry systems, including cacao plantations, to these hillsides. Additionally, USAID introduced greenhouses and water retention ponds to allow farmers to produce high value crops and shift agricultural production from hillsides, thus reducing the impact of farming in these sensitive areas.

USAID has improved agricultural market linkages in Haiti. Notably, USAID has supported the mango export value chain through a public private partnership with Coca-Cola and by funding efforts to expand phytosanitary and traceability systems. Small farmers have benefited from USAID-funded activities that link them with micro finance, thus providing them with much needed access to capital. Additionally, USAID has worked with farmer organizations to promote direct marketing of high value specialty crops to high end grocery stores, restaurants, and hotels.

Under USAID’s Feed the Future (FTF) projects, USAID investments in agriculture have benefited more than 84,000 rural households, of which 78,000 reported significant increases in income. As of June 2017, nearly 52,000 farmers had applied new agricultural technologies introduced by FTF on more than 34,000 hectares.

FTF activities worked to empower Haitian women to increase their incomes and improve their access to agricultural technologies and inputs. Since FY 2014, a total of 33,502 women have received training in improved agricultural methods and nutritional practices, gained greater access to market information and agricultural inputs, or increased their capacity to manage small agriculture related businesses. Additionally, the FTF AREA (Appui à la Recherché et au Développement Agricole) activity developed an assessment instrument to better measure gender integration in Haiti’s agricultural sector. The information generated by this tool will inform a report on integrating women into Haiti’s agricultural extension service.

Section 5(b)(11): A description of mechanisms for communicating the progress of recovery and development efforts to the people of Haiti, including a description of efforts to provide documentation, reporting and procurement information in Haitian Creole;

The USAID Mission designed a multi-media strategy to communicate USAID’s programmatic efforts that address the Haitian people’s priorities and demonstrate the U.S. government’s long‑term commitment to supporting the Government of Haiti in its effort to create sustainable development. This strategy is comprised of diverse outreach mechanisms that focus on the successful collection and dissemination of information that tracks USAID progress in Haiti; outreach to local media; and direct communication with local implementing partners, civil society, and the Haitian public.

The Mission hosts frequent public events that are conducted in French and Creole and receive ample coverage in the local media. Public outreach events include officials from the Government of Haiti, local implementing partners, and civil society. The Mission also speaks directly to the Haitian public through participation in radio talk show programs, which are the primary news source for nearly 90 percent of Haitians. One example is regular radio broadcasts with USAID Health Team technical officers discussing in a “call-in” format various health information and initiatives. These broadcasts are delivered in French and Creole.

USAID social media outreach in English, French, and Creole is done in coordination with the embassy’s public diplomacy social media outreach platform to include Twitter and Facebook. This social media outreach also reaches the Haitian diaspora, who actively influence and play an important role in supporting the country’s development efforts.

USAID Haiti regularly does public outreach and media events across all USAID sectors of programming and regularly featuring the Mission Director, the U.S. Ambassador or Chargé d’Affaires, and Haitian government ministers and officials. For example, USAID hosted an event in June 2017 for local press highlighting how Haitian farmers will benefit from using an improved corn seed variety being distributed under the Feed the Future project.

At these events, press materials in both French and Creole were distributed to Haitian journalists. The Mission also systematically translates into French and Creole all public information relevant to local stakeholders. This includes fact sheets that document program objectives, goals, and results.

Section 5(b)(12): A description of the steps the Government of Haiti is taking to strengthen its capacity to receive individuals who are removed, excluded, or deported from the United States.

In response to conditions in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) temporarily suspended removals to Haiti. After approximately one year, ICE coordinated with the Government of Haiti and resumed removals of Haitian nationals who had final orders of removal and had been convicted of a serious crime.

Through USAID, the U.S. government supported a socio-economic reintegration program for criminal returnees from April 2011 to April 2014. Program participation was voluntary, and those returnees who chose to participate were provided with transportation to their home community or temporary accommodation, basic medical care and psycho-social counseling, basic language and skills training, employment referrals, and other support to facilitate reintegration. From 2010 to 2013, the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) implemented a reception program for economic migrants interdicted at sea and repatriated to Haiti by the U.S. Coast Guard.

With both programs having ended, the Government of Haiti’s Office of National Migration (ONM) assumed full responsibility for providing support to returning criminal returnees and economic migrants. A lack of resources continues to hamper the ONM’s capacity to meet the basic needs of these returnees, including their inability to support the rent for an accommodation center in Port-au-Prince, and sporadic provision of food supplies, hygiene kits, and transportation for economic migrants returning to Cap Haitien and Port-au-Prince.

Despite having to contend with budget shortfalls, the Government of Haiti has demonstrated the will and determination to manage the return of its citizens. Since the resumption in October 2014 of expedited removals of Haitian migrants interdicted on U.S. islands in the Mona Passage and mainland Puerto Rico and the rescission of the Policy for Resumed Removals to Haiti, which now allows ICE to remove all removable aliens to Haiti, the Haitian government continues to competently manage expedited return flights of migrants. Our embassy in Port-au-Prince works closely with Haiti’s Ministry of the Interior and ONM to welcome and process returnees safely and professionally.

In response to a FY 2016 spike in Haitian overland migration to the southern U.S. border, the United States announced in September 2016 the resumption of non-criminal Haitian deportation flights. Via USAID, the U.S. government supported a socio-economic reintegration program for non-criminal returnees from November 2016 to May 31, 2017. During the seven-month project, USAID’s work through the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reinforced the operational capacity of the ONM by installing a welcome center at the airport and training the ONM staff on psychosocial support. Through the direct assistance provided at the airport, IOM rented buses to transport beneficiaries, and provided beneficiaries with water, a hot meal, a hygiene kit, and approximately $75 for onward transportation to their final destination. Upon arrival, beneficiaries requiring medical assistance received psychosocial and health support from the IOM health team.

In June 2017, ONM began managing the entire reception and reintegration process independently. As of this date, the Haitian government has accepted all of the non-criminal cases that ICE presented for removal. Since resuming the non-criminal flights in October 2016, ICE has successfully repatriated more than 5,000 non-criminal Haitian nationals. The U.S. embassy continues to work with DHS-ICE to build and supplement the capacity of ONM to accept additional migrants, in light of their resource constraints.

Section 5(b)(13): An assessment of actions necessary to be taken by the Government of Haiti to assist in fulfilling the objectives of the Strategy:

A. Ports and energy are two critical sectors in which actions by the Government of Haiti are necessary to assist in fulfilling the objectives of the Strategy. The USAID assessment of actions on the port follows (see B, below, for energy).

The Government of Haiti agreed to the following actions related to the ports sector:

Action: Ensure that the Government of Haiti entity responsible for modernizing parastatals, such as the port, will oversee the procurement process for the award of a public-private partnership (PPP) contract for operation and maintenance of the Cap Haitien Port (CHP) in accordance with Haitian law.

Assessment:

The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the National Ports Authority (APN) have taken responsibility for conducting the PPP procurement. There continues to be a strong working relationship between APN and the International Finance Corporation, which is funded by USAID, to assist with finalizing the transaction documents that will result in an operations and maintenance agreement with a private sector entity.

Action: Ensure that the National Ports Authority (APN) completes the development of a draft Loi Organique (law) that takes into account the reforms discussed in the Port Reform Policy Note.

Assessment:

The APN-drafted legislation is ready to be presented to Parliament, though no date has been provided for when it will be presented. If Parliament passes the legislation, it will be submitted to the President for signature. The signed law takes effect when published in the official gazette (Le Moniteur).

Action: Confirm that APN has eliminated any conflict between its existing contracts and the planned PPP approach.

Assessment:

Cap Terminal had a long-term contract for certain container operations at the port. That contract was to expire December 2016. In mid-2016, APN converted that arrangement to a month-to-month contract that will run until the competitively selected port operation and maintenance contractor will be in place. This arrangement permits the port to continue to operate until a new firm is in place.

The process to select a private sector operator is in the final stages of the procurement process, with the pre-qualification process completed and the request for proposals being finalized.

Action: Confirm that APN does not intend to incur any new liabilities with respect to the CHP by signing or renewing contracts related to the Port unless such liabilities can be without compensation or penalty with a maximum of one month’s notice.

Assessment:

APN understands it is not to undertake any new contracts or leasing arrangements at the Port. To date, no new contracts or agreements have been issued by APN for operations at the CHP, except for the arrangement with Cap Terminal S.A. noted above.

Action: Confirm that APN will undertake reorganization and staffing of the Cap Haitien Directorate of APN to enhance its regulatory functions at the CHP; and direct Administration of Customs (AGD) to undertake reforms and engage with USAID and USAID partners with respect to reforms needed to improve customs services at the port.

Assessment:

The USAID contractor is in place providing assistance (training and organizational structuring) in developing the capacity of APN to oversee the private sector operator. Also, the USAID contractor is advising AGD on approaches to improve customs operations for the CHP. Equipment has been identified and training modules prepared. The training is scheduled for early 2018.

B. In the energy sector the Government of Haiti has agreed to the following actions:

Action: The Government of Haiti commits to install updated electricity rates reflecting cost of service for all categories of consumers of the mini-utility in the north.

Assessment:

With the new government in place, USAID discussed the need for changes in the electricity rates for all customers of the mini-utility in the north. The Government of Haiti was clear they are not prepared to further provide any subsidy to cover losses. The result was an agreement to institute electricity rates that reflect the cost of service. New rates went into effect in early 2017 with three gradual increases for residential consumers already implemented and the first of two increases for the main industrial park tenant instituted. It was also agreed that any new tenant in the industrial park will pay the full cost reflective electricity rates, right from the beginning. In a signed implementation letter, the Government of Haiti committed to competitively award a commercial concession to a private sector entity to operate and maintain the mini-utility as a profit-making venture. USAID’s technical assistance contractor has prepared the concession documents for the Government of Haiti, and the documents are under final legal review.

Action: The Government of Haiti and local governments must be proactive in advancing sustainable electric distribution by supporting the operator’s efforts to disconnect non‑paying customers.

Assessment:

Electricity theft remains a major challenge. The USAID funded operations and maintenance contractor has been aggressive in disconnecting the illegal connections and is working with local community leaders to proactively assist in reducing losses. For properly connected customers (those with service drops and meters at the houses), the collection rates, even with the higher electricity charges, are still around 90 percent.

C. To help fulfill the objectives of the Strategy, the Government of Haiti must strengthen individual technical capacity and institutional management and leadership in the health sector.

The biggest challenge facing the Haitian health sector is lack of sufficient domestic financial resources. National funding for the health sector has declined over the past seven years, reaching a low in 2017 of 4.3 percent of the national budget. As external resources decline, the Government of Haiti must allocate greater funding to essential public health services, including immunization, surveillance and primary care, as well as basic operations and maintenance of the facilities themselves. The U.S. government remains committed to assisting the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) with such an undertaking. To develop a pathway to sustainability in the health sector, the MSPP must develop a firm understanding of the cost of providing quality care to the Haitian population and advocate for adequate resources. The Executive and Parliament must also make funding Haiti’s health services a higher priority and assume greater responsibility as donor funds disappear. USAID continues to assist the MSPP in its efforts to increase country ownership of the health system through interventions at the central and departmental levels. The focus remains on health care costing and prioritizing, standardizing and providing a package of essential health services throughout the country, stocktaking and capacity building for the health workforce, and creating unified, national supply chain and information systems. USAID and the World Bank support the MSPP’s results-based financing strategy that seeks to enhance facility performance and improve health outcomes.

D. The Government of Haiti has proved a strong partner on Haitian National Police (HNP) growth and professionalization. Government of Haiti budget support for the HNP, however, has not kept pace with force growth or increased operational demands, requiring continued donor support to ensure that the police can be effective. Other challenges have included construction delays resulting from a lack of qualified construction personnel and firms, and delays obtaining land title for project sites. While senior Government of Haiti officials have made a point of publicly calling for efforts to combat pretrial detention, the Government of Haiti must take steps to adopt and implement long-awaited legislation on criminal and penal code reform to modernize its justice sector and to address the severe overcrowding and pre‑trial detention challenges in Haitian prisons.

E. To establish the rule of law and protect the rights of citizens accused of crimes, the Haitian government must take steps to establish the independence and efficacy of the judicial system.

USAID programs have promoted judicial independence in Haiti, while building the capacities of judicial actors and institutions and laying the basis for comprehensive reform to take place in the sector. The Improving Justice Service Delivery and Sector Reform in Haiti project, or “PROJUSTICE,” which began in July 2009 and ended in August 2016, worked with the Government of Haiti to improve the delivery of justice services and access to justice. These elements are essential for promoting stability and security, improving citizens’ confidence in their government institutions, and improving human rights for its citizens. The project worked with the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MOJ) and the High Judicial Council (CSPJ), and it targeted courts, prosecutors’ offices, prisons, bar associations in six jurisdictions, and civil society organizations. The project helped train hundreds of justice sector personnel on case management, case tracking, investigation techniques, legal writing, procedural deadlines, and judicial orders that can be used to encourage compliance with procedural timelines. PROJUSTICE also established Haiti’s first computerized Case Management Information system in four Haitian jurisdictions to help expedite the processing of cases involving detainees in prolonged pretrial detention. Free legal assistance was provided for thousands of indigent defendants and detainees in prolonged pretrial detention. A limited-scope impact evaluation of this activity by USAID estimated that sponsored legal assistance reduced pre-trial detention by an average of 3.7 months per defendant.

The Justice Sector Strengthening Program (JSSP) launched in October 2016 and is scheduled to end in February 2021. With this project, USAID seeks to advance core justice system strengthening while building the foundations of judicial reform, fostering political support, and addressing relevant justice issues in the short-to-medium term. In line with USAID’s approach to engage in partnerships with local stakeholders, JSSP’s vision is to transition responsibility incrementally in each project activity toward full government ownership over the next five years. USAID through JSSP supports the new Haitian government and other key stakeholders to achieve significant developments in Haiti’s justice sector, including technical support to the MOJ for the development and presentation of the draft Penal Code and Penal Procedure Code to Haiti’s Parliament in 2017, and technical and logistical support to the senate judiciary committee to conduct public hearings to gather feedback from civil society on the proposed codes.

USAID also supported Haiti’s Presidential Commission on Penal Reform, which drafted the new codes. After completing the drafts of the new codes, the Commission began working on a code implementation plan that will allow the MOJ to adequately plan for the application of the codes during the next budget planning exercise. To facilitate this process, USAID partnered with the OAS Centro de Estudios de Justicia de las Américas (CEJA) to work with the members of the Budget Commission on issues relevant to penal code reforms based on lessons learned in Latin America. USAID’s technical assistance to the MOJ led to the adoption of the draft bill on legal assistance by the Council of Ministers and the vote of that bill by the senate a few months later. The draft legal assistance bill defines a Haitian government legal aid system similar to a public defender’s office that will provide free legal assistance to people unable to pay for legal services. To combat pretrial detention and prison overcrowding, USAID supported special, expedited hearings at the Port-au-Prince District Court in support of the new MOJ’s “Prevention of Pre-Trial Detention Plan;” in one month (April 2017), this intervention expedited 81 cases to decision at the subject court.

USAID also provided a sub-grant to the Federation of Haitian Bar Associations to support a special legal assistance program in areas affected by Hurricane Matthew. The grant enabled citizens to obtain or replace civic registry documents such as national identification cards, birth and death certificates, and land property titles. From October 2016 to date, 1,872 (884 men/988 women) beneficiaries requested assistance through this special program. USAID also continued its support to the CSPJ through technical and logistical support to the Judicial Inspection Unit (JIU). This support enabled the JIU to conduct two disciplinary inspections, two routine inspections, and courtesy visits to eight District Courts.

F. Poor governance, which arises from Government of Haiti institutions’ lack of independence and accountability, is a fundamental challenge to development. Lack of transparency and accountability in the management of public resources contributes to underfunding of state institutions. As a result, Haiti struggles to provide basic services in health, education, security, and infrastructure for the economic and physical well-being of its citizens. International donors have repeatedly stepped up to cover the gap by financing significant percentages of the budgets. The Government of Haiti’s dependence on donor largesse to provide basic services is neither sustainable nor conducive to long-term development.

Assessment:

The Haitian government has begun to recognize the need to bring transparency and accountability to public financial management. In June 2017, the Government of Haiti and key donors signed a Partnership Framework on Budgetary Support and Support for Public Finance Reforms that, inter alia, aims to increase the effectiveness of economic governance and implement public finance reforms.

The Government of Haiti’s current public financial management reform plan covers six areas of intervention: (1) Mobilization of Internal and External Resources; (2) Treasury and Accounting; (3) Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS); (4) Global Budget Framework; (5) External Control; and (6) Governance of Local Finance.

Since 2011, USAID has had a sustained commitment to strengthening Government of Haiti public financial management systems for greater aid effectiveness and sustainability. In 2012, USAID conducted the first step toward on-budget assistance, a public financial management risk assessment overview of the Government of Haiti systems. In 2015, USAID performed the second step of the public financial management risk assessment focused on the Economic and Social Assistance Fund, an autonomous Government of Haiti entity, and a limited assessment of the Ministry of Health. These risk assessments help design projects that will use and strengthen Government of Haiti public financial management systems. For example, the public financial management assessment and risk mitigation plan for the Ministry of Health provided a baseline for targeted technical assistance to improve its budgeting and financial management and inform the design for future USAID programs with the Ministry of Health.

Further, to strengthen Government of Haiti public financial management systems, USAID has been providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Tax Authority, the Office of Management and Human Resources, and the Programming and Analysis Units of the Ministry of Planning. From 2004 to 2010, USAID worked with the Ministry of Economy and Finance to implement the IFMS, which resulted in a single network linking the 51 budget institutions in the Port-au-Prince area and the provision of hardware, software, and training to 13 of the Government of Haiti’s largest budget institutions to facilitate the efficient and secure exchange of data. In 2014-2015, USAID facilitated linking the Office of Management and Human Resources’ management system to the payroll system of the Ministry of Economy and Finance to eliminate ghost workers. In 2016, USAID provided information technology (IT) equipment to the Tax Authority’s headquarters and 15 regional offices, automating many of them for the first time.

In 2017, USAID completed the renovation of the Ministry of Economy and Finance Network Operation Center and equipped it with state of the art servers; repaired 20 IFMS network sites and started installing new communication equipment; developed two Unified Exchange Platform web services for five institutions so they could exchange information more efficiently and securely; connected 10 municipalities’ tax collection operations with the central Tax Authority (DGI) office; connected two regional Supreme Audit Institutions offices with the DGI central office to facilitate the audit of municipal finances; provided IT equipment to 13 regional DGI sites to connect them to the central office; and developed new functionalities for the Human Resources Management System, including on-boarding of new civil servants, monthly affirmation, career management, and a payroll interface with the Treasury. Since 2013, USAID has worked with nine municipalities to improve tax collection, management, and service delivery, which resulted in increased tax revenue and transparency in these municipal cities.

In addition, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Technical Assistance, with USAID funding, provides technical assistance to improve revenue administration, cash management, and budget execution and control. USAID also sponsors the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Supreme Audit Institution Management staff to attend the annual International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management to build their capacity in public financial management.

USAID almost exclusively provides technical assistance rather than direct budgetary transfer to the Government of Haiti. However, two pilot programs in the health sector provide direct funding to the Government of Haiti. In one project of $2.7 million, USAID directly funds the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s Technical Execution Unit that provides oversight of the construction of the Port-au-Prince General Hospital, with reimbursement payments against the completion of identified milestones. In the second, USAID is implementing a small government-to-government results-based financing pilot project, with a budget of $750,000, with the Ministry of Health to provide monetary incentives to Haitian health care workers upon the achievement of set objectives. Meanwhile, USAID is considering second stage risk assessments focusing on elements of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of Social Affairs, and Ministry of Education to further support Government of Haiti systems to achieve greater aid effectiveness and sustainability.