26-09-2025 | di COOPI

Strengthening community resilience in Haiti: COOPI for disaster preparedness and response

Haiti is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world, with high poverty, food insecurity, unemployment and limited access to essential services. The earthquakes of 2010, 2018 and 2022, together with epidemics such as cholera and frequent natural disasters (hurricanes and floods), have exacerbated the fragility of communities, reducing their capacity to cope with complex crises and causing massive displacement, particularly in the areas of Port-au-Prince and Artibonite. Today, protection, health, education and food security remain at risk. Due to the frequency of disasters and local conflicts, it is essential to have effective early warning systems, established local capacities for both preparedness and rapid response, and integrated disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies.

In this context, COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale is implementing a project funded by the European Commission's Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) entitled “Building local and community capacity for early warning, preparedness and rapid response to multiple and interdependent risks in Haiti”, which aims to reduce the negative effects of disasters on the most vulnerable populations and build the resilience of the population.

The project is mainly active in Gonaïves, Gros Morne and Ennery, and is carried out in collaboration with strategic partners such as the Directorate-General for Civil Protection (DGPC), the Alliance pour la Gestion des Risques et la Continuité des Activités (AGERCA), and the Association nationale des scouts d'Haïti. These partners work closely together to improve the effectiveness of early warning systems, thereby strengthening their role as allies and spokespersons for a participatory, bottom-up response.

The initiative consolidates local technical and logistical rapid response capabilities and promotes collaboration between institutions, local organisations and community actors, involving young people in volunteering and training initiatives. Operational activities include raising awareness of disaster preparedness, strengthening local risk assessment capacities, developing contingency plans, strengthening civil protection committees, training volunteers, distributing agricultural kits to vulnerable families and promoting the inclusive participation of persons with disabilities.

Private companies play a key role in the project, as they are the direct beneficiaries of the intervention. They will be trained and prepared to deal with emergency situations, taking an active role in both disaster prevention and response. Thanks to this intervention, Haiti is taking a significant step towards more resilient and autonomous communities through a participatory civil protection system, in which technical expertise and active collaboration with the population promote sustainable and inclusive development.

COOPI has been present in Haiti since 2010 and has implemented numerous projects for disaster risk reduction, response to cholera and drought, management of camps for displaced persons, rehabilitation of housing and food security, in order to reduce vulnerability and strengthen the resilience of Haitian communities.