People at the centre? A reality check on post-quake accountability to affected people in Haiti

21 Nov

Written By GTS

This project aims to provide a check and balance on the endless rhetoric around ‘putting people at the centre’ by ensuring the views of crisis-affected Haitians are forefront in local decisions and global discussion.

Ground Truth Solutions, in partnership with the H2H Network and The New Humanitarian, sought the perceptions of communities affected by the earthquake on 14 August 2021 in Haiti.

With the dual objective of providing operational agencies with actionable recommendations based on community views and finding out to what extent communities feel ‘empowered’ by aid, we collected perceptions on the post-earthquake humanitarian response. Humanitarian assistance has touched almost everyone in Haiti, where the response to the 2010 earthquake is oft heralded as a turning point in tangible commitment to so-called accountability to affected populations – but where evidence of improvement is elusive.

We see people’s views in Haiti as a valuable yardstick for how the sector is faring on issues of quality and accountability, and will use them as a barometer for the success or otherwise of broader sector reform.