$2.5 Million Prize!

In an effort to rebuild the third of the banks lost in the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, The Haitian Mobile Money Initiative is giving away a 2.5 million dollar award to the first person to start up a mobile money service. The HMMI joined forces with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and The U.S. Agency for International Development to make this opportunity possible.

Today Digicel from Haiti won the $2.5 million!! Mobile money will allow Haitians to access their bank accounts, make deposits, withdrawals, and transfer money from their mobile phones. The increase of money services in Haiti will encourage saving, investing and financial productivity. It will also create a more stable and secure country encouraging investment with in Haiti.

-Teal Peterson

SOURCE: WWW.USAID.COM

A Simple Solution for Haiti’s Cholera Outbreak

A sugar and salt solution can save a child on the brink of death suffering from dehydration by severe diarrhea. This solution is called an oral rehydration solution and was discovered by United States-funded scientists in Pakistan in 1968 as a cheap treatment for severe diarrhea. And with the right proportions of salt and sugar, this oral rehydration solution can revive severely dehydrated people suffering from cholera. Remarkably, the solution is effective even when it must be mixed with dirty water. The effectiveness of this solution has also been remarkable. In South Asia, oral rehydration therapy has helped to reduce the fatality rate among those infected with cholera from 30% to less than 1% in just a few decades.

Haiti’s cholera outbreak is tragic especially since it could be so easily prevented and treated with oral rehydration solution packets. Thankfully, there are a few key organizations in Haiti that are distributing oral rehydration solution packets on the ground. Some of these organizations include: Save The Children, Partners in Health, and Doctors Without Borders.

Haiti’s cholera outbreak is a reminder that clean, safe drinking water needs to be universal and not just a privilege for people in developed countries. Please help support bringing clean water to millions of people around the world by getting behind the Water for the World Act. Call your congressional leaders and tell them to cosponsor this Act!

-Clare O.

SOURCE: NYTimes

Red Cross uses Text Messages

Cell phone users in the heart of Haiti's cholera outbreak are receiving prevention tips via text message. For example:

Today, for instance, 30,000 cell phone users in the Artibonite district will get this message:

Kwa Wouj: Bwe seròm oral pou ka trete dyare. Yon lit dlo trete, 8 ti kiyè sik, 1/2 ti kiyè sèl.

That means: "Drink ORS (oral rehydration solution) to treat diarrhea. One liter of treated water, 8 teaspoons of sugar, ½ teaspoon of salt."

International Organization for Migration are using cell phones to track people, many of whom could be infected, people who are leaving the Artibonite region where the epidemic first struck. The Red Cross is also visiting people tent-to-tent talking up tips and prevention. You can listen to the NPR report here.

-Shereen Alibhai

SOURCE: Huffington Post

Hope for Haiti

The World Health Organization is is taking action to ensure cholera will be prevented, focusing on the outbreak in Haiti. Cholera is a species of Vibrio bacteria that produces a deadly toxin. Because cholera spreads in areas where there is untreated sewage, and contaminated water, the people in Haiti have clearly been affected.

Currently there are 12 cholera treatment centers being built to support isolation and treatment of cases: six in Artibonite, one in Central, and five in Port-au-Prince.

WHO's Region for the Americas (PAHO) continues to mobilize international experts including epidemiologists, risk communication, case management, laboratory, water and sanitation, logistics, and LSS/SUMA (humanitarian supply management system) to Haiti and also to the Dominican Republic.

-Shereen Alibhai

SOURCE: WHO

Too Much Aid to Handle?

In a recent Beyond Profit article, Jerryanne Heath raises an interesting point in regard to the outpouring of aid that Haiti has received since the earthquake last January. She argues that in this particular situation, aid should be focused on saving immediate lives rather than improving the long-term infrastructure or developing a ten year plan for Haiti.

Why? Aren't both forms of aid important for creating a stable nation?

Heath points out what many people tend to forget: Countries can't just be grouped into developed and developing nations. Haiti's past is unique. By ignoring the specific economic and political plight of the Haitian people and overwhelming its government with money that it cannot fully use, donors not only waste money, but diminish Haiti's responsibility to become a sovereign, mature democracy, able to support its own citizens.

What's the solution then? During a crisis such as the earthquake, the priority, of course, is saving lives. It has been inspirational to see the outpouring of support and aid flow to a nation during a time when it needs it the most. But continuing to give aid to help "develop" a nation without a clear action plan on how to solve the overwhelming corruption in Haiti is in many ways irresponsible. The focus should be on helping Haiti to develop a functioning, legitimate government, with the power to tax and distribute aid to its own people. Then, and only then, will aid given to the nation be fully used.

What does this have to do with The Borgen Project? Well, one of the questions we frequently get asked is, "How can we support giving aid to countries that are obviously corrupt? How can you be sure that the aid will reach the people who actually need it?" We have the same concern. We don't support throwing money arbitrarily at nations. We want our Congressional leaders to develop plans with other nations to ensure that aid is not siphoned through corrupt politicians, illegitimate businesses, or drug tycoons. Nations that wish to receive aid must understand the importance of eliminating corruption.

-Corey Cox

SOURCE: Beyond Profit

Major Victories in Haiti

The UN has stated that "there are few places in the world today where children are as vulnerable as they are in Haiti." However, there have been some major victories. UNICEF has immunized more than 275,000 Haitian children since the country was struck by a devastating earthquake just over six months ago. They hope to reach 500,000 more children during a second round of emergency immunizations. Safe water has been provided to 1.2 million people by UNICEF and partner organizations, nutrition programs have provided food to 550,000 people and 2,000 children with severe acute malnutrition are now receiving therapeutic feeding and care. "Some of the milestones at six months are truly remarkable. So far no increase in malnutrition has been recorded and we have also not seen any major disease outbreaks despite huge challenges in health and sanitation," UNICEF wrote in a report earlier this month. 225 UNICEF-supported Child-Friendly Spaces, designed to offer children a safe space to participate in recreational activities, have also been created and have served 63,000 children.

- Clara Hill

SOURCE: "More Haitian children to be vaccinated in a UN-backed campaign" - UN News

6 month anniversary of earthquake in Haiti

Yesterday, millions around the world took a moment of silence to remember the earthquake that occurred 6 months ago in Haiti. The quake, which registered as a 7.0 on the Richter scale, lasted only 35 seconds but killed 230,000 people and left millions homeless. On this anniversary, American political leaders reaffirmed US commitment to not only help Haiti recover from the disaster, but to invest in the country's long term growth and prosperity. In a written statement issued yesterday, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said that "We are committed to helping them realize the Haitian vision for a better nation." Bill Clinton, UN special envoy for Haiti, promised to continued working to get donors to honor their pledges for funding the Haiti recovery.

Widespread international outcry for support following the disaster resulted in a relatively large and efficient humanitarian response by more than 140 countries. Over 1.5 million Haitians are currently living in US built displacement camps. In one dramatic turn of events, more people now have access to safe drinking water than they did before the earthquake. Before the disaster, only half of Haiti's urban population had access to tap water, while many people had to purchase their water from street-side vendors. Humanitarian efforts have emphasized drilling bore holes and distributing 5 litres of water per person per day.

While the international response in the months following the quake have greatly helped Haiti recover, we must continue to support the humanitarian efforts. With time, it will become easier for people to forget the disaster. However, the long and arduous process of rebuilding the country must get underway, and that will take our continued support.

-Matthew Thwaites

SOURCES: 'Obama Administration marks 6-month Haitian Earthquake Anniversary'-Kaiser Family Foundation, 'Haiti: 6 Months After the Quake'-US State Department, 'An Update on Efforts in Haiti Six Months After the Quake'- US State Department

Today at the Borgen Project...

Today at The Borgen Project we were granted the company of a previous intern from the Haiti-based micro-credit institution, Fonkoze. Georgina Allen spent 6 months interning at Fonkoze and enlightened us with her many experiences of working with the Haitian people as well as her experiences of the impact micro-finance loans have made in the lives of the people who receive them.

Fonkoze was started in 1995 by a group of just 32 grassroots leaders and has since grown to to 765 employees, with over 54,000 loan clients.

According to Ms. Allen the efforts of Fonkoze has enabled many to escape the abject poverty that once afflicted their lives But she also cites that much work still needs to be done to promote the economic sustainability that is currently lacking in the country of Haiti - most notably, the energy and transportation infrastructure that hinders long term progress.

To learn more check out their website: Fonkoze.

- Tiffanie Depew

SOURCE: Fonkoze

Haitian Diaspora Market for Business Development

The newly created Haitian Diaspora Market is intended to help Haiti by encouraging Haitians working abroad to invest in Haitian businesses. USAID is working with Fondation Sogebank to manage the 2-year pilot program, which will operate until 2011. Its goal is to invest in small businesses in agriculture, tourism, assembly and information technology.

By encouraging partnerships between the Diaspora and Haiti, businesses can reach greater levels of productivity. USAID is promoting joint ventures by offering grants of $50,000 to $100,000 to companies that provide sustainable plans to help Haitian development. The expected results of the pilot program are to develop 20 partnership businesses in the regions around Port-au-Prince and provide a sustainable long-term model for the future.
--Jessica Milstead

Source: usaid.gov