Two years after the devastating earthquake of 12 January 2010, Haiti continues to draw on its resources to recover. The challenge ahead is enormous after the heavy losses suffered following the earthquake that left more than 200,000 dead, 1.5 million displaced and 300,000 buildings damaged or completely destroyed. The year 2010 was also marked by the cholera epidemic ongoing to this day and Hurricane Thomas whose torrential rains and winds swept across several regions of the country. The international humanitarian response has been unprecedented and many initiatives have emerged to assist the Haitians in dealing with these devastating events.
2011 has meanwhile not only been characterised by political and administrative transition but also by the transition from the humanitarian to the recovery phase. The major challenge for the stakeholders involved in the reconstruction in Haiti has been to introduce a long term focus to their programmes and to move from humanitarian aid to sustainable development. However, the reality in Haiti still demands the complementarity of humanitarian intervention in parallel with that of development stakeholders. The political transition to a new government has been difficult and accompanied by many uncertainties.
The recovery phase will take many years but many results have already been observed on the ground over the past 12 months: 50% of the debris removed, more than 300,000 jobs created and 2,000 meters of gabion walls erected.
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