Haiti is getting attention it needs at last

After a devastating earthquake wrought untold destruction on the residents of Haiti on January 12, the world reacted with aid, assistance and professional expertise to alleviate the immediate suffering of its people.

An estimated 200,000 Haitians died in the tremors that flattened large quarters of Port-au-Prince and outlying areas, leaving a city in ruins, lives shattered and a nation mourning.

But even before the natural disaster, years of dictatorship, poor governance and a lack of centralised planning and resources, as well as economic malfeasance combined to make Haiti one of the poorest nations on earth and certainly the most destitute in the Western Hemisphere.

Before the quake, there was little hope of the nation fulfilling its potential — foreign investment in the country was virtually non-existent, and what funds did come were in the form of humanitarian aid.

The effect of the January 12 catastrophe was to firmly focus the world community on the plight of the broken nation. While aid and rescue services provided immediate succour, the long-term sustainability of Haiti depended on an outpouring of funds and expertise from donor nations. The issue was to see beyond the flattened buildings, the ruined lives, and the heart-broken people.

In its estimates, the government of Haiti pegged the funds needed to rebuild the nation at $4 billion (Dh14.7 billion). Instead of negotiation and procrastination there was action and commitment. Donor nations have so far committed more than $5.3 billion to the cause of Haiti over the next two years.

With the United States and the European Union playing the biggest roles, 130 countries have pledged funds and financial assistance to get Haiti back on its feet.

The international monies will be used to build hospitals, schools and government buildings, creating an infrastructure of hope where before there was despair.

Perhaps now is the dawn of a bright future for Haiti.