海角大神

Haiti鈥檚 President Ren茅 Pr茅val visits the White House Wednesday to thank the United States for the hundreds of millions of dollars in aid provided since his country鈥檚 ruinous earthquake Jan.12. But he鈥檚 also coming to ask that continuing assistance not make matters worse.

Instead of more food donations, for example, Mr. Pr茅val would like to see seeds coming into his country. Long-term debt relief is good, he will say, but cash to repair drainage systems and get schools up and running again will have a more immediate impact.

Pr茅val鈥檚 visit, his first meeting with President Obama, comes as Haiti鈥檚 earthquake has fallen off front pages but as officials and members of Congress formulate plans for Haiti鈥檚 long-term revival and reconstruction. (Envisioning a new Haiti. Monitor report here.)

The temblor, considered by the Inter-American Development Bank to be 鈥渢he most destructive natural disaster in modern times鈥� given Haiti鈥檚 population and economy, left more than 220,000 Haitians dead and caused an estimated $14 billion in damage.

Donors conference at the United Nations

The White House, which is preparing to ask Congress for more than $1 billion in additional aid for Haiti, wants to demonstrate Mr. Obama鈥檚 commitment to the Haitian people and also to drum up support for the international donors conference for Haiti, which the US will host at the United Nations in New York March 31, officials say.

Another US objective, especially before the donors meeting, is to demonstrate to a skeptical world that the Haitian government 鈥� heavily criticized for its sluggish response after the quake 鈥� is operating effectively and capable of managing a significant reconstruction program. (Monitor report: Test for US, Obama in Haiti earthquake response.)

Pr茅val is keenly aware of the importance for him and for Haiti that he appears to be in command 鈥� prepared to administer a program that meets Haitian priorities and international demands, say experts in the region and natural-disaster response.

鈥淗e needs to have his priority list in his hands when he walks into the Oval Office,鈥� says Johanna Mendelson Forman, a senior associate with the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Countering the criticism Pr茅val and the Haitian government have endured since the earthquake, Ms. Forman says, 鈥淗e鈥檚 been moving things behind the scenes in an effective way.鈥� But, she adds, 鈥淗e also needs to get out front so people see something from the leadership.鈥�

Judging from comments Pr茅val made before departing Haiti for Washington, he does have some definite ideas on how assistance to Haiti should proceed.

Moving Haitians outside overcrowded Port-au-Prince

He says the emergency phase of recovery is over, and that continued food aid will only disrupt Haiti鈥檚 economy. Better to focus on seeds and fertilizers so people can be employed while food is grown locally, he says. At the same time, assisting agriculture would boost the government鈥檚 plans to decentralize the population and the economy outside of an overcrowded Port-au-Prince.

鈥淗is [Pr茅val鈥檚] plan makes sense, and I think he鈥檒l hear support for it in his meeting with President Obama,鈥� says Mark Cohen, a food-aid specialist with Oxfam America in Washington. What Pr茅val probably means, Mr. Cohen adds, is that seeds and fertilizer should be provided quickly, and that food aid 鈥渁lready in the pipeline鈥� be allowed to 鈥渢aper off鈥� so that Haiti鈥檚 next harvest early this summer is bountiful but does not encounter a glutted market.

Longer term, Cohen says, Pr茅val鈥檚 plan will require more than seeds and fertilizer and can work only if better job opportunities, schools, and services are provided so that rural areas become as attractive as the capital as a place to live.

Pr茅val is also looking for a quick inflow of cash to help prepare Haiti for the fast-approaching rainy season. In the heavily damaged capital of Port-au-Prince 鈥� where about 1 million people were left homeless, and streets remain clogged with rubble 鈥� Pr茅val wants to proceed with building long-term camps and repairing drainage systems.

CSIS鈥檚 Forman says Pr茅val鈥檚 Washington visit is likely to offer clues as to the 鈥渂alancing act that is going on鈥� between a weak but functioning government and the pressures it is feeling from outside donors and the international community.

鈥淭he Haitian government is well aware of its own weaknesses. It was limited before this disaster and it is limited now,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut it is a sovereign entity, and for the country鈥檚 long-term good the government has to show it has a plan and a voice with which to articulate it.鈥�