From Relief to Development: Next Steps for Education in Haiti

In the 10 months since the devastating earthquake hit Haiti, humanitarian relief and recovery have been the primary focus of work on the ground. In the education sector, schools and classrooms have been rehabilitated, teachers have been retrained, and children have received necessary learning materials. Yet, these activities have only reached a subset of the population and represent only a small portion of what is needed to rehabilitate and renew education in Haiti. At the same time, the Haitian government, with the support of the international community, has developed a comprehensive education sector strategy, which has recently been approved by the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission.

On October 14, the Center for Universal Education at Brookings hosted a discussion of education in Haiti since the January earthquake. Panelists include Marcelo Cabrol of the Inter-American Development Bank, Lisa Doherty of UNICEF, and Peter Holland of the World Bank. They also reflected on coordination efforts, including the work of the Education Cluster, the inter-agency group which organizes responses in education during humanitarian emergencies, and the transition from emergency relief to longer-term recovery and development.

Brookings Nonresident Fellow Allison Anderson provided introductory remarks and moderated the discussion. After the program, the panelists took audience questions.