From Caribbean News Now

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Observatoire Citoyen de L’Action des Pouvoirs Public en Haiti (OCAPH) on Thursday launched a project to monitor Hurricane Matthew relief aid from international aid organizations and keep tabs on the Haitian government’s decisions related to aid distribution. The project will be carried out by an on-the-ground consortium of Haitian groups.

“Nobody knows better about whether the aid is working than members of our communities,” said Karl Jean-Louis, executive director of OCAPH and head of the consortium. “Aid must go to where it is needed most. We will mobilize citizens from all across Haiti to get directly involved in our watchdog project. We are determined to call out any waste or fraud we uncover.”

The consortium, named the Citizen Watchdog Consortium (CWC), is being led by OCAPH. It also includes MOFKA, a Haitian grassroots women’s organization; INURED, a Haitian research group; Diagnostic Development Group, a Haitian group specializing in monitoring and evaluation; and the Federation of Mayors of Haiti (FENAMH). Participants will work closely with media groups to shine a spotlight internationally on how the aid process unfolds.

“Together with the people of Haiti, we will demand transparency and accountability,” Jean-Louis said. “One initiative we will closely watch is the response to the UN’s October 10 Flash Appeal, which calls for $119 million to reach 750,000 people with life-saving assistance and protection over the next three months.”

The consortium will track to what extent the government is prioritizing immediate needs to vulnerable groups including women and children, the disabled, and the elderly. It will also urge the private sector to get fully involved in interventions. And it will stay in close communication with Parliament to convey what it finds and stay informed about official developments.

“Local involvement will be key to success,” said Jean-Louis. “We will train citizens to use their cellphones to do crowdsourcing, even in remote areas. They will be capturing and submitting on-the-spot footage that tells the true story about what is going on.”

For more on this story go to: http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-Coalition-created-to-monitor-post-hurricane-aid-in-Haiti-32404.html

IMAGE: China Daily