Integrating efforts facilitates efficient humanitarian response

Ten years ago, when Dr. Magalie Emile-Backer co-founded the diaspora organization HRA – Haiti Renewal Alliance in the US, she had not imagined the scale of disaster her country of birth would be facing. Originally established as a platform to mobilise diaspora skills and resources for development and entrepreneurship in the Caribbean, particularly Haiti, the organization has quickly adapted their operations to humanitarian relief, following emergencies such as the 2021 earthquake.

When history strikes again

A decade ago, an earthquake struck just outside Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince, leaving hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced.

On Saturday August 14, 2021, the island was hit again, by a temblor two times larger than the one in 2010. It took only 30 seconds for this 7.2 magnitude earthquake to devastate the Southwest Region of Haiti. Latest figures estimate that 800,000 people, including 340,000 children, have been affected by the earthquake which has left more than 2,200 dead and over 12,000 injured.

The earthquake could not have come at a worst time for Haiti, which is still reeling from the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on 7 July 2021. Combined with escalating gang violence this has resulted in the internal displacement of around 19,000 Haitians, while 4.4 million people were already in need of humanitarian assistance prior to the earthquake, half of them children. 

Coordinating disaster response across an umbrella

The Haiti Renewal Alliance (HRA) in partnership with IOM and funding from USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance developed the Diaspora Coordination Framework, an umbrella network of diaspora organizations for humanitarian actions and tools for increasing diaspora coordination and collaboration. This led to the development of the ONEDIASPORA coordination platform to serve as a repository to house critical information, to provide resources to registered diaspora organizations and to improve long term recovery efforts.

HDERU, the Haitian Diaspora Emergency Response Unit, established in 2016, is a diaspora coordination model for tracking, monitoring, and integrating the diaspora within humanitarian affairs and development more effectively.

Streamlining diaspora response

HRA activated its Haitian Diaspora Emergency Response Unit (HDERU) via www.onediaspora.org shortly after the earthquake  in August 2021 and managed to streamline humanitarian response efforts. On the day of its activation, the HDERU platform held the first online conference with more than 90 diaspora organizations.

Eventually, more than 30 online meetings were held to share real-time information via WhatsApp Relief communications, to pre-negotiate vendor rates, to formalize relationships with national and local authorities and to strengthen local procurement processes. As a result, the ONEDIASPORA platform operationalized and registered over 70 organizations working both within the diaspora community and on the ground, and the platform engaged and informed over 200 organizations, government officials, health care workers, and other friends of Haiti.

By launching a collective diaspora flash-appeal in partnership with its Haitian diaspora platform www.onediaspora.org, pledges over 1.5 million USD have been received.

Some numbers & facts:

• Over 200 organizations, government officials and health care workers participated in situational briefings
• HRA sourced local supplies by connecting local companies with the Haitian government’s needs assessment report team.
• HRA could deliver and distribute 2000 units of 5 gallons water, 500 tents and tarps, and containers filled with medical and hygiene supplies towards affected Haitian communities.

Overcoming challenges

The emergency efforts encountered a number of challenges. First, the response phase was hindered by after-shocks, but also by political and economic instability. The latter hampered effective cooperation with authorities and created security concerns for the transport and distribution of goods.

Secondly, limited diaspora funding resources and expertise to navigate and to access direct funding from traditional humanitarian donors was perceived to be a challenge. Thirdly, the absence of local governance and law enforcement impeded local coordination efforts enhancing the importance of coordination from outside the country.

A major lesson learned was the need for diaspora organizations to integrate efforts and to enhance mutual support, in particular when applying for funding. A coordinated and collaborative diaspora was expected to have more impact.

Also, the need was recognized for more collaboration with traditional actors in line with the necessity to build the capacities of diaspora organizations to meet standards. As part of that, building organizational infrastructure was deemed crucial regardless of limited capacity. A proper vision, formal registration, and a platform structure were essential to gain credibility and attract partnerships. A final lesson learned was the importance of diversifying funding resources, and combining funding from several groups
to accomplish more work.

Building back better together

By September 30 2021, HRA deactivated its Haitian Diaspora Emergency Response Unit (HDERU). However, relief and long-term recovery efforts will continue for affected people via www.onediaspora.org. OneDiaspora's mission is to maximize support of Haiti’s private sector, particularly small and medium enterprises, to ensure the local economy is not disrupted.

Like HRA, several diaspora organizations involved in humanitarian response engage in humanitarian action before, during and after crises occur, meaning that they can draw on networks and expertise to identify needs, mobilize resources and respond to crises across the so called humanitarian-development nexus. This agility ensures that diaspora's often can shift relatively easily from a development to a humanitarian focus (or vice versa). A quality, which not only helps to save lives immediately, but ensures a long-term engagement in building back a country together.

Photo Credits: Heather Suggitt, Robin Canfield on Unsplash.com