Plan reflects on Haiti sessions at Davos
Plan International's Chief Executive Officer Nigel Chapman reflects on the sessions to help earthquake-hit Haiti at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
It is my first visit to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, or Davos as it is colloquially known. Imagine a huge political party conference, without the party politics but equally intense, and a much more international feel, and you have a flavor of Davos.
It is fascinating to see so many leaders of the emerging economic powers here: India, China and Brazil as well as panels still dominated by the world’s biggest superpower, the USA, with its powerful corporate ethos and chutzpah.
Amid the talk of economic recovery, or not, it is good to have 4 sessions in 2 days slated on Haiti. The disaster has touched a nerve with even the most flinty financier.
Helping Haiti to recover
What is interesting is how people here want to learn more about what can be done. But there is some confusion about the 'how'. Major companies are concerned about whether their money will be used wisely. As one CEO put it, who should I trust on Haiti? The panel sent him off to the queue of non-governmental organisation (NGO) leaders waiting for the session to end.
At the moment the talk is still about the immediate short-term: food, water, tents, but as the issue of long-term reconstruction looms larger, so will Plan with its longer term programme of rehabilitation, child protection and education. It has been wonderful to see the level of resources Plan has generated in such a short time.
Part of the value of Davos is the power of serendipity. The first person I met was a senior official from the EU who sponsored a child in Belgium. I shook his hand especially warmly.
Clusters and tug boats
“Clusters” and “tug boats” are the buzz words of a session on Haiti ably chaired by Simon Maxwell of the UK's Overseas Development Institute, who is not afraid to ask the unpopular questions about coordination.
“Clusters” because this is about reassuring the audience there is some coordination around the needs of people – food and water, somewhere to sleep, treating injuries and basic health care, and who is taking the lead.
The UN explains how this works. I am pleased that Plan is connected to the right “clusters” of government, international NGOs and local players in Haiti, so I can breathe a little easily.
“Tug boats” is a phrase which means behaving like a mini flotilla, with little knowledge of the crew or the ship you are meant to be helping. In Haiti, that means turning up with kit, wanting to help but having no experience of the place or the people.
Plan value
The consensus is that this is to be strongly discouraged. But even with this advice, there are still hundreds of NGOs working in Haiti in the wake of the earthquake, but far fewer than in the 2004 tsunami.
I get the opportunity to stress the value of Plan being in Haiti for 30 years, being community based, and in it for the long term. Plan is the opposite of the “tug boat”, which does a job and then disappears to the next disaster.
Read about Plan’s emergency response in Haiti.
