Facing political instability, violence, and insecurity, Haiti also remains extremely vulnerable to natural hazards, including hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. Over the past 25 years, disasters have claimed over 230,000 lives and affected over 13 million people. Climate change is expected to further intensify the frequency and severity of extreme weather events—for example, hurricane wind speeds are projected to rise by up to 10 percent by 2050. 

Determined to protect lives and livelihoods from future disasters, Haiti has taken important steps to strengthen its emergency preparedness and response (EP&R) capacity and infrastructure. The World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), including through the Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific-European Union Disaster Risk Management (ACP-EU DRM) Program, have been at the forefront of supporting these national efforts. 

GFDRR technical assistance has been instrumental in driving progress under the $50.5 million Strengthening Disaster Risk Management and Climate Resilience Project. A major focus of the project has been to enhance Haiti’s EP&R infrastructure. Following the devastating August 2021 earthquake, support has focused on rehabilitating emergency operations centers (EOCs) damaged by the disaster. These centers play a vital role in coordinating and managing emergency response at both national and subnational levels. To date, eight EOCs have been rehabilitated: three at the departmental level and five at the communal level. 

In addition to rehabilitating the EOCs, support under the project has also been directed toward the construction of multifunction emergency shelters. The construction of 20 shelters is currently underway across five departments. Informed by a GFDRR-supported behavioral study that underscored the importance of community trust-building for effective shelter management, training will be provided to local committees composed of community members who will be involved in shelter operations. Among the 10 committees established to date, more than one in three members are women. 

A further priority of the Strengthening Disaster Risk Management and Climate Resilience Project has been to strengthen the capacity of the country’s Municipal Civil Protection Committees (CCPCs). A linchpin of the national EP&R system, CCPCs are volunteer organizations that deliver emergency services, including early warning dissemination and evacuation alerts, at the municipal level.

With support from GFDRR, more than 2,800 individuals from over 140 CCPCs have been trained in key areas of EP&R, including emergency operations, response planning, disaster risk awareness, and the prevention of gender-based violence in emergency contexts. Following the training, nearly all CCPCs updated their municipal emergency contingency plans and tested their effectiveness through simulation exercises. 

In conjunction with the training, the project also included an assessment of the EP&R capacity of the CCPCs, with a view to guiding capacity-building efforts. The most recent evaluation found that 15 CCPCs currently demonstrate the highest level of competency (Level 1 – Excellent) in emergency planning and management. An additional 90 CCPCs have achieved the second highest level (Level 2 – Good).