Washington, D.C., March 4, 2025 - The World Bank Group's Board of Directors endorsed a new strategic partnership for Haiti today. The new plan for the 2025-2029 period focuses on laying a foundation for economic and social recovery, when conditions allow. It also intends to mitigate risks of further deterioration of human capital, physical infrastructure, and institutional capacity.
As Haiti undergoes one of the most challenging periods in its recent history, the strategy comes at a crucial time. The country's development has been constrained by a crisis - fragility driven by political instability, conflict, and violence, including gang proliferation and governance failures. Various shocks exacerbate the political and economic environment, including gang violence.
The new strategy will make approximately US$320 million in grant financing available with the aim of building resilience among Haiti's most vulnerable. It will do so by strengthening economic governance and creating employment opportunities, maintaining essential institutional capacity for the provision of basic service delivery, and preserving human capital to increase resilience to natural disasters and shocks.
"Haiti needs to increase the resilience of critical state institutions, systems, and capacities in the short term while establishing foundations for longer-term transformational reforms. The new Country Partnership Framework will be instrumental in helping the country meet these objectives," said Alfred Metellus, Haiti's Minister of Economy and Finance.
The World Bank Group will support the creation of an enabling business environment for the private sector and facilitate investments that can drive economic growth, create jobs, and promote sustainable development. The International Finance Corporation will have a special focus on inclusion, economic growth, productivity, and sustainability to support the private sector in job preservation, creation, and competitiveness.
"Despite increasing uncertainty and volatility, the World Bank Group continues our on-the-ground support to Haiti. We will focus on investments in high poverty areas and those with limited access to basic services", said Anne-Lucie Lefebvre, World Bank Country Manager for Haiti. "The World Bank will support resilience-building for the poor and vulnerable, while strengthening the foundations for growth."
Implementation of the new strategy will emphasize a flexible, adaptive model, a territorial approach, and capacity improvements, amid fragility. The strategy was prepared based on a comprehensive analysis of the country's development challenges while learning from lessons of past strategies, and in consultation with the government, private sector, civil society, and development partners.
The Board of Directors also approved a US$ 60 million grant for the Haiti Strengthening Public Financial Management Project, which aims to strengthen government capacity and transparency in public revenue mobilization and financial management. The project will strengthen economic governance and create job opportunities by increasing government capacity for budget management and oversight; strengthening external control institutions; and increasing the capacity and efficiency of Customs operations for revenue mobilization.
Learn more about our work in the Caribbean:
Website: www.worldbank.org/caribbean
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter: http://wrld.bg/GMc050TliRv
