Approach Paper: Evaluation of IDB's Grant Facility for Haiti
Summary — This approach paper outlines the methodology and framework for evaluating the Inter-American Development Bank's Grant Facility for Haiti over the period 2011-2020. The evaluation will assess the use of US$200 million in annual grant resources committed to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.
Key Findings
- The Grant Facility was established in 2007 to implement debt relief commitments, cancelling US$423 million in principal and US$102 million in interest payments.
- Following the 2010 earthquake, unprecedented financial measures included forgiving US$479 million in debt and committing US$200 million annually for ten years.
- By 2015, only 46% of the allocated US$1 billion had been disbursed, leading to modifications in resource allocation procedures.
- Haiti ranks among the top 15 most fragile states globally according to the Fragile States Index.
- The country faces severe structural limitations across economic, socio-political, institutional, security, climate, and public health dimensions.
Full Description
This approach paper defines the Office of Evaluation and Oversight's methodology for evaluating the Inter-American Development Bank's Grant Facility (GRF) for Haiti, covering ten years of activity from 2011-2020. The Grant Facility was originally established in 2007 to implement debt relief commitments to Haiti under the E-HIPC and MDRI initiatives, cancelling approximately US$423 million in principal and US$102 million in interest payments.
Following the devastating 2010 earthquake, the Board of Governors approved unprecedented financial measures, including forgiving all of Haiti's debt up to December 31, 2010 (US$479 million), converting undisbursed loan balances into grants (US$144 million), and committing US$200 million annually for ten years from Ordinary Capital income. However, by 2015, only 46% of the allocated US$1 billion had been disbursed, leading to modifications in resource allocation procedures.
Haiti is classified among the world's most fragile states, ranking in the top 15 globally according to the Fragile States Index and listed among 13 extremely fragile contexts by the OECD. The country faces severe structural limitations across economic, socio-political, institutional, security, climate, and public health dimensions. The evaluation will assess how effectively the IDB's grant resources have addressed these multifaceted challenges over the decade following the earthquake.
The document outlines the conceptual framework, evaluation objectives, methodology, and timeline for this comprehensive assessment of one of the largest grant facilities in IDB's history, examining its relevance, effectiveness, and impact in supporting Haiti's development in an extremely fragile context.