Hurricane Matthew emergency response (Haiti)

Disaster Evaluation

Client: Partners of ACT Alliance, Haiti

Evaluation conducted by: David Stone, Luc St Vil, Carol Pierre Paul Jacob and Maurepas Jeudy

On Tuesday 4 October 2016, Hurricane Matthew swept through Haiti with winds of up to 230km/h causing widespread damage, flooding and displacement across the island, destroying public infrastructure and people’s homes and livelihoods, and disrupting basic social services, mainly in rural areas.

Already prepared for a tropical storm, ACT Alliance members in Haiti quickly responded through a series of  interventions which included the distribution of non-food items, shelter repair and construction, cash transfer and cash for work programmes, livelihood support and food security, repair of community water infrastructure and psychosocial support.

As part of its ongoing commitment to ensure accountability and transparency and to contribute to organisational learning, ACT Alliance requested Proaction Consulting to undertake an independent evaluation to assess the overall impact and the quality of its humanitarian response. Field work was conducted with a team of local consultants between 25 April and 11 May 2019.

The evaluation found considerable evidence of good preparation and high quality support. Selected highlights include:

  • the benefits of working with local partners who are known by communities enabled assistance to be quickly directed to the most vulnerable people;
  • 90% of survey respondents stated that their house had been assessed for damage before they received support, demonstrating good consultations;
  • in terms of sanitation, 65% of households surveyed believe that they are either “much better off” or “better off” today compared with before the hurricane;
  • when asked whether they would continue to use good hygiene practices learned through this response, 70% or people surveyed said they would certainly do so;
  • most recipients (96%) found that the support prioritised their needs at the time;
  • almost 94% of livelihood beneficiaries benefitted from technical support with agriculture; and
  • through co-ordinated advocacy work with government services, this response set quality standards for housing and resulted in national recognition of the need for improved housing for all.

Following the evaluation, Proaction Consulting organised a Lessons Learned event to document the experiences of all partners who contributed to this response – an important activity to inform and influence future preparation for similar disasters.