Annual Performance Report: Strengthening Community Resilience in Haiti

The program began on June 15, 2021, under the Award # 720BHA21GR00103 for a three-year period of implementation. The goal is to reduce lives lost, people injured, and social and economic disruption. The program strategically convenes three sub-sectors: Building Community Awareness/Mobilization, Capacity Building and Training, and Policy and Planning. The purposes of these sub-sectors include strengthening community awareness and response preparedness with a focus on the youth, enhancing the capacity of the Corps of Civil Engineers and Architects (CICA) through targeted systems and capacity development, and supporting national-level disaster risk management utilizing a data-driven approach to policy and planning. During the reporting period, the program focused on the development of preparatory activities that will lay the groundwork for the technical activities proposed for this intervention. These include the development of the baseline study and stakeholder engagement efforts. The baseline study was developed between August and September 2021, using a mixed-methods approach, including desk research and document review, key informant meetings, and a population-based survey. The primary objective was to gather quantitative data for Indicator D05: Percent of individuals perceiving/recognizing a high likelihood of being severely affected by specific hazards, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes. The population-based survey was conducted in Cap Haïtien and Fort Liberté, with 371 persons in Cap Haïtien and 398 persons in Fort Liberté completing the survey. The survey respondents were ages 12 and older and were selected using cluster sampling. The key findings of this study were that in both cities, participants perceived a high likelihood of being severely affected by specific hazards, with 71% of respondents in Cap Haïtien and 73% in Fort Liberté indicating a high likelihood of being severely affected by earthquakes. The program team also undertook stakeholder engagement efforts, involving the General Directorate of Civil Protection (DGCP), community members in Cap Haïtien and Fort Liberté, and the Corps of Civil Engineers and Architects (CICA). The program team efforts were diverted from the project activities to support the response to the earthquake that occurred in the south of the country on August 14, 2021. The program's overall performance during the reporting period was focused on preparatory activities, including the development of the baseline study and stakeholder engagement efforts. The program did not produce results tied to program indicators during this period, as the activities implemented were preparatory for the implementation of the technical activities.