Sustainable recovery: creating Haitian resilience

Disasters are becoming more prevalent and their burdening impacts are felt worldwide, with this it is becoming of vital importance to understand vulnerability and the reduction of disaster risk. Since the January earthquake in 2010, that killed hundreds of thousands and left millions displaced, Haiti has faced huge challenges to provide basic relief to the 1.5 million people taking refuge in relief camps in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince. One year on and a prolonged period of ‘relief’ is still being experienced; innovative solutions are needed to enable Disaster Risk Reduction principles to be integrated into long-term sustainable development. Continuing political inactivity and inadequate targeting of aid has stunted the (re)construction of vital public health facilities, such as water and sanitation, consequently leaving the nation extremely vulnerable. This paper reports upon the opportunities and mechanisms that could stimulate the integration of DRR, in particular resilience measures, into emergency response and (re)construction of WATSAN facilities in Haiti.