Though many countries vowed to give significant donations to Haiti following a devastating earthquake that rocked the country in January, new findings reveal that the country has only received 2 percent of the money promised.
According to CNN, donors promised $5.3 billion at a Haiti aid conference in March. But less than 2 percent of the money has been given to the United Nations, which was designated to handle the funds. The only funds received were from Estonia, Brazil, Norway and Australia. The U.S. originally promised to pledge $1.15 billion, but has since failed to do so.
“I’m going to call all of those governments…the ones who said they’ll give money to support the Haitian government,” former U.S. President Bill Clinton told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “I want to try to get them to give the money, and I’m trying to get the others to give me a schedule for when they’ll release it.”
While the U.S. has failed to hold up their end of the bargain, Clinton’s foundation and other organizations have privately donated funds to the country, and additional money is still being collected from other charities.
Clinton cited the ongoing, worldwide economic crisis as a likely reason for the countries’ failure to deliver the promised funds.
Currently, a total of $506 million has been given to Haiti since the conference in March. But nearly $200 million of the funds was money that had been given to the country prior to the quake. Additionally, another $200 million went to the government to help Haiti get back on its feet.
The nations’ failure to live up to their promises comes at a time when 1.6 million Haitians remain homeless and destitute six months after the quake.
Haiti’s president recently awarded medals to politicians, celebrities and aid-group directors for their help during the nation’s recovery. But the move has been met with criticism by many Haitians who still struggle day-to-day.
“I don’t know if I’m mad or happy,” Anne Bernard, a 24-year-old mother who lives in a metal shack in Haiti told the Associated Press. “All I know is they haven’t done anything.”
Bernard is among the many displaced Haitians who live in flimsy, make-shift abodes.
According to The New York Times, hundreds of Haitians live in shanties, and many of which are clustered along a congested coastal road called the Routed des Rails. Just beyond their front doors lies a busy highway, with vehicles racing by day and night.
In addition, Haitians continue to face problems obtaining food, as thousands of people are going hungry despite nearly 50 food warehouses located around the country. Eric Klein, founder of Can-Do.org, a small non-governmental organization, told CNN’s Tony Harris that he doesn’t know exactly why the food hasn’t been distributed, and that donors to the country must demand answers.
“Donors have got to demand results,” Klein told CNN. “This has gone on way too long. We’ve seen this in Katrina…this keeps happening. The system is broken and in order to fix it, the donors have to go one step further…so demand results, there’s no harm in asking these NGO’s to show us the results of our money.”