One of the Most Interesting Things from Paul Farmer's Talk

[bcholmes]

One of the areas of huge concern in Haiti is that there are so many NGOs (non-governmental organizations) operating in Haiti. It's been estimated that between 60-80% of Haiti's essential services (hospitals, schools, etc.) are operated by foreign organizations. Over the last 20 years, groups like CIDA and USAID funnel money directly to the NGOs and bypass the Haitian government. And there's a lot to say about the complicity of NGOs in things like the 2004 coup.

Paul Farmer talked about starting to envision a new kind of NGO. He told a story about communities in Haiti that offered to give his organization land if he'd come and run a clinic. His response was to ask them to give the land to the ministry of health and have them ask the ministry to have him set up a clinic. He forces the inclusion of the government. I gotta salute that.