The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on international travel deepened Haiti’s already significant isolation in 2020, as the cessation of most commercial flights to Port-au-Prince dramatically reduced the movement of people, goods, and international assistance into the country. The airport, which had never been a hub of activity, saw its already modest international connections reduced to a trickle.
The reduction in international travel had cascading effects beyond the obvious impact on tourism revenue, which was already negligible given Haiti’s security situation. International development organizations found it more difficult to deploy and rotate staff. Medical supplies and humanitarian goods faced extended delays. Diaspora members who had been planning to visit family were unable to travel. Business connections that depended on in-person meetings were disrupted.
The isolation compounded the sense of abandonment that many Haitians felt in their country’s moment of multiple crises. International attention that had been sporadic even before the pandemic became even more scarce as global media focused on COVID hotspots in Europe, North America, and Asia. Haiti’s chronic emergency — less dramatic than a sudden catastrophe but no less devastating to those living it — struggled to maintain any profile in international consciousness.
Diaspora organizations worked harder than ever to maintain international attention to Haiti, organizing online advocacy events, writing opinion pieces, and lobbying governments and international organizations to maintain their commitments to the country. Their efforts kept Haiti on the radar of key decision-makers even when physical access was limited.