Haiti's troubled history may slow aid to earthquake victims

Humanitarian aid is flowing into Haiti following Saturday’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake there and a death toll that has reached 1,297. However, the Caribbean nation’s political unrest, as well as an approaching tropical storm, is complicating efforts.

Nonprofit groups and philanthropy experts say the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, as well as accusations that money raised following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti never reached those in need, will make fundraising for the nation even tougher.

Art delaCruz, CEO of Team Rubicon, a nonprofit that deploys emergency response teams to work with first responders in disaster areas, said the first briefing his teams in Haiti and the Dominican Republic had with support teams in the United States was about security.

“The assassination of the president, the almost gang-like existence there, it really increases the risk to organizations like ours that deploy into this situation,” delaCruz said. However, Team Rubicon, which was founded in 2010 by Marines Jake Wood and William McNulty in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, has experience on the ground in the country and in similar situations around the world.

“It’s dicey for everyone because the information is incomplete and the situation is dynamic,” delaCruz said. “One way we have a competitive advantage on this is we are an organization where 70% of the volunteers are veterans. They have seen this kind of an environment.”

Skyler Badenoch, CEO of the Florida nonprofit Hope for Haiti, says the response has also been complicated because its staff has been directly affected by the disaster. The organization is now gearing up to distribute $60 million worth of first aid supplies and medical equipment to help those affected, he said.

Aid to Haiti has been probed for...