USAID's Shah discusses progress in post-earthquake Haiti on NPR's Talk of the Nation

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah on Thursday appeared on NPR's Talk of the Nation to discuss rebuilding efforts in Haiti two years after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed much of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Shah said, "[O]ver the last two years, we've seen real signs of hope. A number of things have worked. Partners and the Haitian government and Haitian leaders have done things differently so that today, ... more people have access to clean water and safe sanitation in Port-au-Prince than the day before the earthquake," according to the transcript.

Shah said, "Health services are broadly available to a broad range of the population," and he discussed advancements in improving education, banking, agriculture, and food security. "I know this is going to be a long road ahead, but we have reason to be optimistic, and we have to be vigilant about tracking where the money is going ... so that we make sure we deliver more of these results," he said (Conan, 1/12). On Wednesday, Shah wrote an opinion piece for the Miami Herald, describing some of the progress and saying, "Thanks to the commitment of the Haitian and U.S. governments to embrace an innovative development path, Haiti is a country undeniably on the move" (1/11).