All amounts in U.S. dollars. Numbers in italics are estimates, usually based on the closest year for which data are available.

All amounts in U.S. dollars. Numbers in italics are estimates, usually based on the closest year for which data are available.

All amounts in U.S. dollars.

All amounts in U.S. dollars.

Document: Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Program and Budget Guide, Fiscal Year 2010

Program: International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement

Program Objectives and Performance Indicators Improve the law enforcement capabilities of the Government of Haiti (GOH) to restore and public order and reduce the attractiveness of illegal migration and the ability of criminals to traffic drugs into the U.S., while promoting economic development and long-term stability.

• Existing and 1,000 newly recruited Haitian National Police are vetted and trained to democratic policing standards to form the core of a credible, competent police force.
• Haitian police are able to respond to reports of crime in a timely manner, conduct effective patrols, direct traffic, communicate effectively, and conduct internal and criminal investigations, with crime reducing over time. Incidences of human rights abuses by police decrease.

• Increased crime reporting as will police capability to respond. Security on the streets improves as measured by a return to normal business and reduction of daily gunfire.

• Drug seizures and drug trafficking arrests increase. The flow of drugs through Haiti declines.

• More money launderers are arrested and prosecuted and their assets seized.

Document: FY 2010 Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations

U.S. assistance in Haiti is aimed at helping the nation transform itself into a secure, prosperous, democratic nation that meets the needs of its citizens and contributes to Caribbean stability. Historically, Haiti has faced considerable instability deriving from a potent amalgam of factors, including deep poverty, social vulnerability, food insecurity, environmental degradation, HIV/AIDS, drug trafficking, organized crime, and institutional weaknesses of the Haitian government. Accordingly, the United States partners with the Government of Haiti (GOH) and other stakeholders through assistance programs that promote transparency and good governance; strengthen the rule of law; improve security and stability; foster sustained economic development and food security; help meet the need for basic education, health and HIV/AIDS services; and aid in the recovery from natural disasters and reduce disaster vulnerability. Continued U.S. and international engagement in all of these areas is vital to support the democratically elected government, ensure regional security, and address the root causes of Haiti’s volatility.

Peace and Security: Security and stability remain primary goals in Haiti in FY 2010. U.S. assistance will continue to increase the visibility, mobility, and numbers of well-trained Haitian National Police (HNP), including the counter-narcotics police force, which will receive funding through the Merida Initiative. The United States will also assist the Haitian Coast Guard’s operational capacity, with Merida Initiative resources supporting the expansion of operating locations, including the construction of a pier at Port de Paix to deter drug trafficking in the northwest region. Security assistance will support the Haitian Coast Guard’s efforts to patrol and defend Haiti’s maritime borders. Moreover, U.S. programs will provide technical support and training in financial investigations underpinning Haitian anti-money laundering and anti-corruption efforts. The United States will continue anti-trafficking in persons programs, which provide protection and prevention services to victims, develop the capacity of state victim support agencies, promote anti-trafficking legislation, and support the HNP’s Child Protection Branch. Likewise, conflict mitigation programs will continue to provide jobs and training, improve public infrastructure, strengthen citizen groups, and increase government presence.

Governing Justly and Democratically: U.S. assistance will continue to promote good governance in all branches of the GOH, as well as local governments, civil society, political parties, and the media. U.S. assistance will promote transparency and effectiveness of the executive branch, improve legislative functions and processes, and support anti-corruption reforms. U.S. assistance will also enhance decentralized local government and help Haiti's judiciary improve its institutional capacity, responsiveness, and independence. Assistance efforts will seek to promote collaboration among police, prosecutors, and other judicial personnel to improve judicial case management and reduce the number of pre-trial detainees in Haitian prisons. U.S. programs will help develop a modern, secure, and humane prison system. Human rights programs will provide greater security and treatment of persons and communities affected by organized violence and facilitate the human rights culture within the Haitian Ministry of Justice and the HNP.

As 2010 is a presidential election year in Haiti, civil society programs will promote electoral process transparency and informed citizen participation. Resources will help civil society organization (CSO) networks to carry out joint advocacy campaigns that encourage citizen participation. The strategic use of media will aim to increase civic knowledge and subsequent informed civil action. Programs will strengthen the Haitian Electoral Council’s systems to manage credible elections, foster decentralization of political parties, expand grassroots involvement, and engage a broader range of civil society, to ensure a peaceful transfer of power from one government administration to another.

The United States helps improve the justice system establish security, protect human rights, and enable economic growth. U.S. assistance addresses challenges such as a lack of resources and institutional weaknesses that undermine justice administration and citizen access to legal services. In FY 2008, assistance focused on strengthening justice sector institutions and helping them to provide access to justice services. Support was provided to 14 institutions – including state-level commissions, professional associations, the Magistrates’ School, and advocacy groups – to achieve legislative reforms, enhanced capacity of personnel, and greater access to courts and legal services. Increased FY 2010 assistance will expand support to six additional and four existing institutions to implement new reforms. These include two presidential justice sector reform commissions, three ministerial reform units, four judicial professional associations, Magistrates’ School, and Judicial Council.

Investing in People: The United States will continue to support GOH efforts to provide access to visible, high quality health and education services for almost 50 percent of the population in both rural and urban areas. U.S. assistance will target Haiti's most vulnerable citizens by delivering maternal and infant health and nutrition services. Programs will also reinforce GOH capacity to oversee service delivery, including an increased emphasis on voluntary family planning and treating tuberculosis, while implementing publicprivate partnerships and strengthening responsiveness to citizens' interests. U.S. food aid programs will help 613 provide supplemental feeding for vulnerable groups, stabilize incomes, and improve household nutrition. Priorities for the education sector include strengthening GOH institutions to re-start critical public services and develop education systems for long-term sustainability of both the public and private school systems (85 percent of Haiti’s primary schools are private). U.S. support will further leverage resources through partnerships with the Haitian business community to improve the quality of basic education and increase equitable access to schools. Resources will expand technical support for innovative early grade reading programs and distance education projects that reach at-risk youth. Additional U.S. assistance will also provide 30,000 more scholarships for impoverished young people and nearly double the number of assisted schools.

Linkages with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR): Haiti will receive significant support to build partnerships with local government and non-governmental organizations to provide integrated prevention, care, and treatment programs throughout the country and support orphans and vulnerable children. The Centers for Disease Control and USAID will implement these activities.

U.S. efforts are committed to working towards Haiti’s goal to provide universal access to quality family planning (FP) services for the reduction of family size, which contributes to economic development at the household and national level. Haiti’s contraceptive prevalence rate has remained stagnant over the past 10 years at about 22 percent, despite an unmet need of 40 percent of reproductive age women who wish to use contraception but do not have access. In 2007 and 2008, U.S. assistance increased access to FP services to close to 50 percent of the population, resulting in an increase in the use of modern FP methods. In U.S.- supported clinics and hospitals, 25 percent of women were using modern FP methods in 2007. In FY 2008 the results dropped to 21 percent, due to a significant increase in the target area and targeted beneficiaries, which increased the denominator for calculating the rate. However, percentages are still preferred for measuring total impact, and FY 2009 targets are expected to increase to 27 percent. In FY 2010, U.S. assistance will reach the target of 28 percent modern contraceptive use rate in an expanded geographic target area, advancing Haiti’s goal of universal access to FP services.

Haiti ranks very low in all in international measures for access to water supplies and sanitation facilities. In FY 2008, the Unites States used prior year funds and support from other programs, such as Conflict Mitigation, Environment, and P.L. 480, to implement activities that capped wells, built water reservoirs and household cisterns, protected water sources from pollution, and distributed water filters for water purification. These activities had not been planned when the FY 2008 targets were being set. In FY 2009 and FY 2010, the United States will again use support from these other programs to implement water activities. The target for 2010 is increased due to the FY 2010 request level of $1.856 million in this program element. In FY 2010, the United States will continue water programs to improve the delivery of water and will also upgrade systems debilitated by the 2008 hurricane system.

Economic Growth: In response to the 2008 hurricane season, the U.S. Government received supplemental emergency funds to assist with recovery and reconstruction efforts that will be linked with on-going and new economic development activities, building the bridge between recovery and sustainable development. Central to this strategy is improving long-term food security. In FY 2010, through the Food Security Initiative, U.S. assistance will address agriculture productivity and sustainable resource management. Working closely with local and U.S. non-governmental organizations, the United States will address transportation constraints to moving goods to markets; improve land and water management; address control of pest and diseases that affect strategic agricultural commodities; provide support for rural and agricultural finance and small and medium businesses for producing, processing, and marketing agricultural and non-agricultural commodities; and enhance sustainable management of natural resources. The entire economic growth portfolio will mix initiatives to spur short, medium, and long-term growth and address the instability caused by huge unemployment rates. Labor-intensive “cash for work” methods will maximize transfer of income to the most vulnerable Haitians to increase their access to food.

In the water sector, the United States will expand activities that focus on watershed management, as well as market and natural resource-based interventions, which have produced more sustainable hillside farming systems, less environmental degradation, and improved rural poor income levels. The ongoing program encompasses two important watersheds—Limbe and Montrouis—covering almost 92,000 hectares (h). The additional environment resources requested will add much needed support for the strategically important Cul de Sac watershed begun with hurricane recovery resources, enabling the program to target 20 percent of arable land and 30 percent of Haiti’s population. U.S. assistance also will help promote macroeconomic and sector policies that facilitate economic growth; increase trade and investment-driven employment generation; strengthen public and private sector trade capacity; and facilitate a more transparent and business-friendly regulatory and administrative environment. Workforce development programs will continue to provide employability training and assist with job placement, focusing on marginalized youth in principal “hotspots.” Successful economic opportunity programs will continue to expand access to financial services for micro- 615 enterprises and link micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises to value chains. Development Credit Authority loan guarantees that increase lending to productive sectors will also continue.

U.S. efforts aim to preserve, protect, and enhance Haiti's natural resources. With roughly 1 percent of the country forested, Haiti remains vulnerable to loss of life, infrastructure damage, and loss of soil coverage. Haiti’s marine resources are threatened, with mangroves harvested for charcoal. Soil erosion and urban and industrial run-off put fisheries and the livelihoods of small fishermen at risk. These challenges were exacerbated by losses from floods during the 2008 hurricane season. The new watershed award was made four months after the planned start-date further adding to delays in achieving results. The United States will continue to address environmental challenges by promoting sustainable management of natural resources through the watershed management program, and labor-intensive soil erosion control and hillside farming infrastructure rehabilitation. Management practices and natural resource-based products will generate improved livelihoods while protecting the environment. Additional FY 2010 resources will expand the watershed program in the largest and most populated watershed and nearly triple the hectares under improved management.

U.S. assistance promotes sustainable agricultural-based growth while protecting Haiti's fragile environment. Haiti remains a predominantly rural country, with more than 60 percent of the labor force employed in agriculture. A lack of markets, low producer prices, poor rural infrastructure, and limited use of farm 616 machinery and improved technology have restricted productivity. Therefore, the United States will continue to support activities that rehabilitate agriculture infrastructure; stabilize watersheds introducing anti-erosion mechanisms, flood control infrastructure, and drainage systems; introduce improved technology; and introduce rural finance and small farmer credit to increase productivity and income for rural households. The United States also will work to link producer groups with exporters to strengthen value chains in rural areas. In FY 2008, such activities did not achieve targets because of a contract protest that delayed the launch of the new project by one year. In FY 2009 and 2010, the United States will significantly expand assistance due to rising food insecurity related to high levels of poverty and damage from the 2008 hurricane season.

Humanitarian Assistance: U.S. assistance will continue to strengthen national and local government capacity to reduce disaster vulnerability through improved mitigation, planning, preparedness, risk assessment, early warning and response activities. To date, U.S. assistance has enabled Haiti to improve local and national capacity to assess and respond to sudden and slow onset disasters, as evidenced through the Haitian leadership of the early warning efforts for the 2008 hurricane season.

Document: USNS Comfort Team Provides PALS Training to Haitian Docs, Nurses

Program: Humanitarian and Civic Assistance

Haitian doctors and nurses received pediatric advanced life support (PALS) training April 17 at the University Hospital of Haiti from trained experts currently embarked with hospital ship USNS Comfort during Continuing Promise 2009 (CP09).

Comfort crews have provided a series of classes throughout the week. These classes included Basic Life Support (BLS) training, Emergency Nursing Skills Fair (ENSF), Electro-Cardio Gram Central Intravenous Therapy, Adult Advanced Life Support (AALS) training and Pre-hospital life support and CPR training. A total of more than 190 people showed up for these classes.

Document: HSC-26 “Chargers” Move Patients in Haiti

Program: Humanitarian and Civic Assistance

Pilots and air crew aboard hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) have delivered more than 500 tons of equipment and supplies for patient care and treatment throughout the first phase of during its support for Haiti during Continuing Promise 2009 (CP09).

Document: USNS Comfort Team Concludes Humanitarian Mission in Haiti

Program: Humanitarian and Civic Assistance

Continuing Promise 2009’s (CP09) mission in Haiti formally ended April 18 with a closing ceremony at General Hospital’s pharmacy which was recently renovated by U.S. Navy engineers, also known as “Seabees.” Hospital ship USNS Comfort has been in Port-au-Prince harbor offering medical services and civic assistance to citizens since April 9.

The hard work of Comfort’s crew was evident in both the number of patients treated and the quality of care they received. The medical staff treated 6,731 patients, had 30,586 patient encounters, and performed 161 surgeries. The veterinary staff treated 2,354 animals and the pharmacy filled 15,504 prescriptions.

Document: Children Receive Surgeries Aboard USNS Comfort

Program: Humanitarian and Civic Assistance

The medical crew aboard hospital ship USNS Comfort welcomed several children April 12 as part of services being provided through Continuing Promise 2009(CP09). The children are scheduled for a variety of surgeries and will be staying overnight at the patient care ward onboard Comfort.

CP09 is a joint effort between U.S. military and interagency personnel which provides 250 patient beds, four operation rooms, X-ray machines, computerized tomography (CT) scans, pharmacy, dental suites, physical therapy and a variety of other services all being manned by over 850 personnel.

The majority of the children who were admitted to Comfort’ patient care ward are receiving surgeries their families could not afford. The surgeries ranged between bone deformities on feet to removal of hernias.

Document: Comfort Puts Boots on the Ground in Haiti

Program: Humanitarian and Civic Assistance

As the first boots of the crew of the hospital ship USNS Comfort touched land in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 9, preparation for medical treatment began.

At Cite Soleil, one of the two medical clinics in the Haitian capitol, the crew used their first day ashore to familiarize themselves with the area, facilities and to set-up mission essential equipment.

The Haitian government secured a privately owned cargo holding site for the medical staff members to use as treatment and screening facility in an area needing of medical treatment. The government also provided bottled water, tents, chairs, toilets, garbage service, forklifts and transportation for staff members once onshore.

Comfort is on a four month humanitarian and civic assistance mission to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Navy Lt. Albert Cruz, a foreign area officer who has been in Haiti for nine days as part of an advance coordination element, said one of the goals of Continuing Promise 2009 is to build relations and that is done by working hand-in-hand with the Haitian people.

Document: U.S. Coast Guard Provides Training for Caribbean Security Partners

Program: Exercises

U.S. Coast Guardsmen from District 7, Tactical Law Enforcement Detachment, provided instruction in compliant and non-compliant boarding to service members from the Royal Bahamas, St. Vincent and Grenadines, St. Kitts-Nevis, Haiti, Trinidad-Tobago, Belize, Barbados and the Dominican Republic Defence Forces at Royal Bahamas Defence Force Base in Coral Harbour, March 6 - 8, during Exercise Tradewinds 2009.

As part of Tradewinds’ goal to increase maritime security, the compliant and non-compliant boarding training will help to ensure partner nations are able to execute the necessary measures when called upon to board a vessel, with the appropriate use of force, to prevent illegal trafficking.

"The focus of this year´s activities on maritime interdiction is critical and timely, and is in line with our determination that every effort should be made to prevent a significant upsurge in drug trafficking in the Caribbean region," said Bahamas National Security Minister O. A. "Tommy" Turnquest, in the opening ceremonies of the event March 4.
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If the suspect vessel’s occupants become aggressive and show resistance to the service members, but were still not attacking them, the students were shown techniques such as pressure points and handcuffing procedures to detain the suspect.
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If the situation escalates and the occupants become violent or aggressive toward the service member attempting to detain them, the aggressor would at that point be classified as non-compliant.
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Partner nation service members were instructed in escalation of force and how to properly evaluate when an occupant is non-compliant and keep control of the situation, with the correct course of action.

Document: International Narcotics Control Strategy Report

For its part, the USG will provide significant support in the coming year under the Merida Initiative—a partnership between the governments of the United States, Mexico, Central America, Haiti and the Dominican Republic to confront the violent national and transnational gangs and organized criminal and narcotics trafficking organizations that plague the entire region, the activities of which spill over into the United States. The Merida Initiative will fund a variety of programs that will strengthen the institutional capabilities of participating governments by supporting efforts to investigate, sanction and prevent corruption within law enforcement agencies; facilitating the transfer of critical law enforcement investigative information within and between regional governments; and funding equipment purchases, training, community policing and economic and social development programs. Bilateral agreements with the participating governments were in the process of being negotiated and signed at the time this report was prepared.

Document: International Narcotics Control Strategy Report

Policy Initiatives. The cornerstone of USG efforts to combat drug trafficking in Haiti is reform of the HNP. In cooperation with MINUSTAH, the USG provided substantial equipment and technical assistance in 2008. The Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS) of the U.S. Embassy coordinated the procurement of vehicles, radios, forensic lab and other technical equipment for the HNP, funded police academy and in-service training, and provided support for specialized HNP units. The USG contributed 50 officers to MINUSTAH's UNPOL contingent, many of whom are involved in training recruits at the HNP academy. A USG-funded communication project continues installation of solar-powered radio base stations for the HNP throughout the country and assisted in repairs to such installations following the four hurricanes that impacted Haiti in 2008. The USG also is contributing three corrections experts to form the nucleus of a UN team to improve the infrastructure and management of Haiti's prison system.

In addition, the USG provided two advisers to help the HNP Director General implement anti-corruption and strategic planning measures. As part of a multi-year anti-money laundering and anti-corruption project, advisers from the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) visited Haiti monthly to review cases of financial crimes with prosecutors and judges, mentor the HNP officers assigned to financial investigations and staff of the Financial Intelligence Unit. OTA advisers also provide training for financial investigators, judges, and prosecutors involved in money laundering and corruption cases. USCG Mobile Training Teams supported HCG operations with maritime law enforcement, port security, engineering, logistics and maintenance training in 2008, tripling the number of HCG trained and increasing Haitian capacity to carry out border protection activities. The USCG, retrofit four vessels and brought the boats to Haiti in April 2008. NAS also purchased two rigid-hull inflatable boats for the HCG. The addition of these assets will allow the HCG to respond better to future drug and migrant operations, particularly on the northern coast of Haiti.