Demand Accountability and Transparency of US Aid to Haiti

While the Obama Administration’s generous aid commitment to Haiti is commendable, the rainy season has already started, and what wasn’t destroyed by the earthquake may well be washed away by rains. We must act urgently to ensure greater accountability and transparency of aid money so that emergency needs can be met. Read and sign the petition below to take action now.

*Note: Signatures must be received by 03/26/2010 for delivery to Secretary of State Clinton.

The U.S. response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti has been commendable: $100 million dollars pledged by the Administration and over $700 million donated to U.S. charities. However, despite the generous outpouring of support, most of the survivors of Haiti’s earthquake still suffer from inadequate and unpredictable food distribution and a lack of basic shelter and sanitation. And, in six weeks, the rainy season begins.

According to the head of the UN mission to Haiti, “What the earthquake did not bring down, the rains will, because all the hillsides are very fragile now.” The emergency in Haiti is not over.

Displaced peoples require immediate support, food, water, shelter, and sanitation. The World Food Program’s (WFP) food surge to feed 1.9 million people for a month must be maintained and expanded. Additionally, cash for work programs, which are providing important employment in a few communities in Port-au-Prince need to be expanded. Displaced peoples need access to financial resources in order to purchase goods and supplies. Those programs should complement peasant and farmer activity.

Additionally, Haitian farmers need access to regenerating seeds, today. Seed stocks have been diverted in order to meet immediate food needs. Additionally, areas of the country with abundant stock have been unable to ship to needy areas because the quake has interrupted the traditional supply lines. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other agencies need to provide seed packs where necessary and facilitate the shipment of seeds where appropriate.

The earthquake was the single worst natural disaster to strike this hemisphere in centuries. The outpouring of financial support is a clear indicator of our desire to ensure that the emergency needs of Haiti’s people are met. We respectfully request that you use your authority to ensure that U.S. resources are fully directed towards meeting those needs before additional lives are lost.

Respectfully,

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