Upheaval at Inter-American Foundation slashes critical aid in Haiti, report says
Thousands of Haitians have lost access to resources including seeds, loans and medical care after the Trump administration began to dismantle a U.S. foundation that helped the troubled Caribbean country, according to a new report issued Friday.
Church World Service, a U.S.-based aid organization, said the Inter-American Foundation had 27 grants with partners across Haiti worth more than $10 million that targeted nearly 82,000 people.
'Cutting these programs, especially in this way, is cruel,' said Joel Malebranche, director of international programs at Church World Service. 'Farmers counted on American support, and we're now turning our backs at the start of the planting season. The report shows that these actions are going to lead to more children facing acute malnutrition and in some cases the loss of life.'
The report was released the same day that a U.S. judge agreed to block the Trump administration from dismantling the Inter-American Foundation, an autonomous agency that distributes grant money to community development groups in the Caribbean and Latin America.
But the upheaval at the foundation that began earlier this year already resulted in an estimated 500 to 600 Haitians being denied medical care each month; in some 14,500 Haitians losing access to seed loans, tools and other services; and in 40% fewer loans being available, according to the report.
'That harm can't be undone,' said Alex Morse, deputy regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean at Christian World Service. 'There's no alternative for a lot of these families.'
He said that despite Friday's ruling, concerns remain.
'What we've seen this administration do with other similar court rulings, they restore the program…but they still don't send the funding,' he said.
Some 230 workers across Haiti have already been laid off, with 17 organizations forced to lay off their entire staff, according to the report.
The report, which was based on a rapid analysis, stated that it was difficult to determine the depth of impact that the dismantling of the Inter-American Foundation would have on grantees in Haiti.
The grants helped farmers by providing them with seeds, tools and training in a country where some 2 million people are on the brink of starvation and nearly half of its more than 11 million inhabitants face high levels of acute food insecurity.
The grants also helped provide routine health services and care for patients with serious illnesses and emergencies in a country where more than 4,200 people have been reported killed from July to February, and another 1,356 were injured, according to the U.N.
In addition, the grants helped finance loans, especially for women in rural areas, the report stated.
The dismantling of the Inter-American Foundation, coupled with the closure of USAID, has many worried about the future of Haiti, which is heavily dependent on foreign aid.
Morse said Church World Service is trying to identify other organizations who can provide help across Haiti, especially in its northwest region, which has struggled through droughts and intense flooding.
Haiti is mired in political turmoil and wracked by violence unleashed by gangs that control at least 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Gangs also have pillaged other regions, recently attacking the central city of Mirebalais, where they stormed a prison and released more than 500 inmates.
Meanwhile, there are no commercial flights going to and from Haiti's main international airport in the capital, with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration extending a ban on flights until Sept. 8 following a surge in gang violence.
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