|
affiliate language sites: Français عربي Español |
|
 |
|
Haiti’s Path to Recovery A select compilation of resources on post-disaster microfinance This Microfinance Voice presents a selection of relevant resources on the topic of natural disasters and microfinance. It was compiled by the Microfinance Gateway team in consultation with experts in this field. We would like to thank Natasa Goronja and MICRA Indonesia, Sasha Muench (Mercy Corps), Mayada El-Zoghbi (CGAP), Geetha Nagarajan (IRIS Center), and Evelyn Stark (Gates Foundation) for their valuable insights in developing this article.
On January 12, 2010, a catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, causing immense destruction in the densely populated capital of Port-au-Prince and nearby areas. This natural disaster killed over 200,000 people and uprooted the lives of millions, bringing unspeakable personal losses to the population of an already poor country.
Three weeks after the earthquake, some of Haiti’s largest MFIs including Fonkoze, Sogesol and ACME had accounted for staff, but were still searching for many of their clients. MFI staff lost relatives and friends, taking a heavy emotional toll. Large and small microfinance operations faced serious physical destruction. Fonkoze’s headquarters and six of its branches were damaged beyond repair. One hundred and forty-five Fonkoze employees lost their homes, and another 121 have homes in need of repairs. Though the task ahead is daunting, MFIs are committed to staying the course and helping clients rebuild their lives. International microfinance organizations have begun fundraising campaigns to support their Haitian partners. Unprecedented toll on microfinance institutions and clients The breadth of natural and manmade crises confronted by MFIs has prompted much thinking on appropriate and effective industry responses. Many post-disaster resources have been developed and are publicly accessible. The challenge is to extract the appropriate lessons from these resources and adapt them to the disaster in Haiti. The impact of the earthquake on microfinance operations in Haiti differs from previous disasters in a few key ways. Large, well-established MFIs had long been operating in the areas of Haiti most severely affected, in contrast to most 2004 tsunami-affected areas and the 2005 earthquake-affected area of Pakistan. Consequently, damage to the physical infrastructure of MFIs in Haiti is on a scale far greater than in other recent disasters. Haiti’s heavy reliance on international remittances adds another dimension, making continued access to money transfer services absolutely critical. In 2008, migrant remittances to Haiti totaled US$1.3 billion, or 18.7% of GDP, with over one-third of the population receiving cash from overseas. Learning from Past Experience While tailored solutions are needed to address the situation in Haiti, lessons learned from previous disasters can assist practitioners in determining how to respond in the short- and long- term. In 2006, Fonkoze released the paper, Post-Disaster and Post-Conflict Microfinance: Best Practices in Light of Fonkoze's Experience in Haiti, on two crises – flooding in the city of Gonaïves and political conflict in the Central Plateau area. The report analyzes published best practices for disaster management by comparing Fonkoze’s own experience with each practice. Though these disasters were much smaller than the recent earthquake, this piece helps provide a unique local perspective on industry best practices. After the Asian tsunami of 2004, the Banking With The Poor Network (BWTP) published a series of research briefs detailing lessons learned. These briefs look at possible MFI interventions when responding to a disaster, covering the use of grants and loans in livelihood restoration, cash-for-work, microleasing, savings, and microinsurance. Other publications which provide insights from the tsunami include:
Basic Guidelines for Emergency Response
Best practice emergency response guidelines extracted from the resources highlighted in the text box to the right are:
Training and Web Resources These trainings have been developed for microfinance practitioners involved in post-disaster operations:
Several web sites contain useful resources for post-disaster microfinance:
Community response: What’s your experience? Do you have expertise in re-establishing microfinance operations after a disaster? What is your opinion on the emergency response guidelines mentioned above? What additional resources do you recommend for practitioners attempting to rebuild in Haiti? Please share your comments below.
|
Posted: 04 Feb 2010 Related Documents: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
About Us | Contact Us | Partners | Help | Site Map | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | Manage Subscriptions
© CGAP 2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED