A bilateral trade agreement with the Caribbean nation of Haiti could greatly improve the quality of life in that country, the hemisphere’s poorest nation. However, business culture in Haiti is exceedingly regressive, which is highlighted in a recent report by the World Bank. The report, hopefully, is a wakeup call to Haitian President Rene Prèval for comprehensive regulatory and structural reform of the private sector.

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Thanks to the tireless and persistent work of Partners in Health, Elda has finally received her birth certificate and visa. With those two pieces of paper in hand, Elda and her mother will be traveling to Cleveland this week for the surgery. We are thankful that these last hurdles have been cleared and we can finally provide her with the care she deserves. Please keep Elda in your thoughts and prayers over the coming weeks.
If you would like to help Elda and her family, please contact us at 202-276-1015 or chris@haitiinnovation.org.

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At its second showing in Haiti this past Wednesday evening about 50 some people showed up to watch the film ‘Un Certain Bord de Mer’ at MWEM, an experimental center for visual communication and the only place to catch a good flick in Port-au-Prince. A film by Haitian director Mario Delatour, ‘Un Certain Bord de Mer’ is unique in its subject, the migration of Arabs, from Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere to Haiti since 1866 and their role since then. Read more »

Jean Gabriel Fils (known by all as ‘Ti Jean’) was born on Haiti’s Central Plateau, where two members of the Haiti Innovation Board of Directors served as Peace Corps Volunteers. For many years, he worked with, and made strong contributions to Partners in Health, an internationally respected NGO based in Cange. He was thirty-five and leaves behind a wife and eleven children. Read more »

Read more » For the past 13 years, HOHS (the Haitian organization for Health Services) has been working in the region of Cayes (Haiti) with a religious organization to provide health services to indigent children and pregnant women in the area.

Whether it’s the workings on Capital Hill, applying for a permit or working in international development, very few people have something good to say about the level of bureaucracy that envelope these activities. (If you’ve worked in international development and have not experienced the headaches of bureaucracy, please let me know, and then write a book explaining how you accomplished this feat). Now, that is not to say that bureaucracy doesn’t serve a purpose, because it does. It ensures that all T’s are crossed and I’s are dotted, which 9 out of 10 times is a pretty good thing. But what happens when bureaucracy becomes the ‘mother’ of all headaches? Read more »