Haiti Earthquake Response: Emerging Evaluation Lessons

 This quick guide for humanitarian policy makers and practitioners distils key findings and emerging lessons from a selection of available evaluations on the response to Haiti’s earthquake in January 2010 which killed 220,000 people. Much went well. Haitians themselves responded immediately with life-saving initiatives and moved to areas of relative safety and security where assistance was, or could be made, available. There was a phenomenal response from a wide range of actors in the international community. Many lives were saved and livelihoods restored. Not all, however, went well. Old mistakes were repeated and new ones made.

The report is organised around the evaluation criteria of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), as adapted for the humanitarian community by ALNAP.2 These criteria are relevance and appropriateness; connectedness; coherence; coverage; efficiency and effectiveness.3 This structure helps to reinforce evaluative thinking about the programmes and projects carried out (or underway) in Haiti. The report highlights emerging lessons and presents supporting findings.