Survey of over 1,700 Haitians shows top reconstruction needs are jobs and schools

Port-au-Prince: Three months after the catastrophic earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, an in-depth survey of over 1,700 Haitians shows people’s top priorities for reconstruction are jobs and schools.

The survey, carried out by an independent Haitian polling consultant and funded by international agency Oxfam, also shows that Haitians have little confidence in their government to lead the recovery phase.

Only 6.6 percent of Haitians believe their government alone should be responsible for rebuilding the country. Sixty-four percent of Haitians believe international NGOs did a ‘very good,’ ‘good’ or ‘decent’ job in the emergency earthquake response.

Additional key findings include:

• Haitians’ top priorities for reconstruction are (in order of priority): jobs, schools, shelter, and a strong agricultural sector.
• Unemployment was the number one problem before and after the earthquake.
• The top four problems now (in order of severity) are unemployment, corruption, violence and insecurity, and irresponsibility of the government.

The survey was administered over a three-day period in March. University students with specialized training in one-on-one survey interviews made home visits with respondents across a range of age, regional and socioeconomic groups. The final survey report provides extensive analysis of the results of the 16-point questionnaire and provides an explanation of the survey methodology.