Why Disaster Funding in Haiti Must Change
Lessons from the sixteen years of disaster response, from the 2010 Earthquake to Hurricane Melissa, from the Funders Coalition for Haitian-led Development
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On October 29th, 2025, heavy rains from Hurricane Melissa flooded the Digue River in Petit-Goâve, Haiti, claiming lives and washing away homes. Dozens more rivers followed suit, with destruction hitting communities across the Jacmel, South, and Grand’Anse regions. 43 deaths, 21 injuries, and 13 missing persons were recorded, and more than 11,900 homes were flooded. Crops were damaged and livestock lost, putting livelihoods at risk, and schools were submerged in flood water.
The extensive damage was caused by the heavy rains from Melissa’s outer bands–the hurricane itself never passed over Haiti. More than 100 miles away, Jamaica absorbed the full impact of the Category 5 hurricane, suffering an additional 45 deaths and widespread destruction.
Hurricane Melissa is just the latest example of the outsized, devastating effects climate disasters have on Haiti. Today–January 12th, 2026–we commemorate the anniversary of the 2010 earthquake that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. In the sixteen years since that date, thousands more have been lost to similar disasters; Hurricane Matthew in 2016 killed more than 500, and a 2021 earthquake killed more than 2,000, with the damage from both disasters centered around Haiti’s southern peninsula–the same areas affected by Melissa.
High Disaster Vulnerability but Ineffective Assistance
Haiti is particularly vulnerable to climate disasters, which are both more frequent and more destructive than in other countries due to a confluence of environmental, social, economic, and political factors. As a result, over the past several decades, billions have been allocated to disaster response in Haiti, most notably after the 2010 earthquake.
But, despite the motto of “Building Back Better,” the focus has not been on disaster preparedness or long-term recovery, which would reduce baseline vulnerability and protect against future disaster damage. Instead, disaster response funding has flowed to short-term fixes, sidelining communities and local institutions and perpetuating cycles of aid dependency.
Hurricane Melissa is not an anomaly. Climate change is intensifying rainfall patterns, prolonging droughts, and increasing the frequency of floods across Haiti. An urgent shift in disaster relief strategy is needed, and Hurricane Melissa is a stark reminder of that fact.
A Better Way Forward: Haitians Leading
Across the country, Haitian-led organizations are already doing what large systems have failed to: preparing, responding, and rebuilding in ways that are rooted in local realities. Community-based organizations are often described as first responders, but they are also the last responders, remaining long after emergency funding dries up and international attention moves on. Their approaches are holistic by necessity, naturally linking climate adaptation, food security, livelihood development, mental health, environmental protection, and peacebuilding.
Yet despite their effectiveness, these groups receive a fraction of global humanitarian and climate financing. Many operate with minimal, project-restricted funding that limits their ability to plan, retain staff, or scale solutions that are already working. More funding, whether from institutions or individuals, needs to go to these groups so they can support their communities holistically and address the preexisting vulnerabilities that make disasters so dangerous in Haiti.
As funders of Haitian-led development, we have relationships with more than 250 groups working with communities across Haiti, many of them located in the regions most affected by Hurricane Melissa. Our organizations can and do direct resources to these groups before, during, and after disasters–but to do their work effectively, they need more.
A Call to Act: Centering Communities in Disaster Response and Recovery
Climate-driven disasters will continue to intensify. The choice before us is clear: continue funding cycles that respond after the damage is done, or invest now in the community-led systems that prevent loss, protect livelihoods, and enable transformation. Investing in community-led solutions now is more effective, more ethical, and more cost-efficient than repeated emergency responses after lives and livelihoods are lost.
As a coalition, we call on donors of all sizes to commit to funding sustainable change in Haiti by supporting Haitian-led organizations directly or through trusted international partners like those in this coalition. Funders must make community-led response, relief, and rebuilding the priority in the aftermath of this and every future disaster.
About the Funders Coalition for Haitian-led Development (FCHLD)
FCHLD is an informal, regular gathering of funders, the goal of which is to increase coordination and cooperation among those funding Haitian-led aid and development. This article was compiled by Roots of Development with input and collaboration from the Coalition. FCHLD includes: Ansara Family Fund, Ayiti Community Trust, Dalton Foundation, Haiti Community Foundation-ESPWA, Haiti Development Institute, the Network of Engaged International Donors, Roots of Development, and others.
Further reading:
Laurent Dubois, “The Aftershocks of History.”
Laura Wagner, “Chronicle of a Disaster Foretold.”
Dr Mark Schuller & Jessica Hsu, After Last Quake Haitians Helping Haitians.
Jake Johnston, “Haiti Since the 2010 Earthquake: A Review of 11 Years Following the Money”