Research Questions

The following table outlines which research questions are in scope for the Haïti Priorise project across a broad range of topics and sub-topics.

Topic	Sub-Topic	Research Question	Suggested Intervention(s)
Health	Health System	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and/or effective interventions to improve the Haitian health system. The focus of this paper should be on increasing spending on general health systems infrastructure while also considering information and monitoring, and the most effective mode of delivery for health services (mobile clinic vs school clinic or some other).	Define and make accessible to all a basic health care basket of services through health centers in the 125 “section communales”, Develop a centralized health information system to better monitor and improve the quality of service delivery Expand ambulance system and network,Extend health services to students through schools, either a fixed clinic in all public schools or mobile clinics in EVERY department
Health	NCDs	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and/or effective interventions to address non-communicable diseases in Haiti, including identifying which diseases to prioritise and optimal modes of delivery (e.g. mobile clinics). Particular focus should be given to hypertension, diabetes and top risk factors / causes from Global Burden of Disease.	Provide hypertension screening and treatment Provide diabetes screening and treatment
Health	Child and maternal mortality (except wasting / nutrition)	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and/or effective interventions to address child and maternal mortality in Haiti, including child immunisation, midwives and top causes / risk factors from GBD. Childhood wasting and malnutrition are out of scope for this sub-topic.	Increase child immunisation, Integrate midwives into the health system
Health	HIV	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and/or effective interventions to reduce the transmission and disease burden of HIV / AIDs.	Expand HIV prevention: male circumcision, mass media campaign, HIV testing and counselling Expand HIV treatment
Nutrition	General nutrition / Anaemia	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and/or effective interventions to deal with child and adult malnutrition in Haiti with focus on proven solutions: i) micronutrients + deworming for 0-2 year old children ii) iron supplementation iii) exclusive breastfeeding and iv) nutrition for pregnant mothers.	Provide micronutrients, deworming for 0-2 year old children to reduce stunting, Provide iron supplementation Provide nutrition supplements for pregnant women (iron and folic acid, balance energy protein and calcium) Promote exclusive breastfeeding
Nutrition	Wasting	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and/or effective interventions to prevent or treat childhood wasting - the #1 risk factor for death and disease in Haiti according to the Global Burden of Disease.	Provide ready to use therapeutic foods for children suffering from wasting
Population & Demography	Family planning	Estimate the costs and benefits of providing family planning / sexual reproductive health services in Haiti, including the optimal mode of delivery.	Control population pressure by extending the mobile clinic program (covering family planning, HIV, vaccination)
Governance	Judicial strengthening	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and/or effective interventions to strengthen the administration of justice and security in Haiti, taking into account the targets of the Strategic Development Plan of Haiti (PDSH).	Strengthen the administration of justice and security Strengthen the courts network Strengthen the law enforcement emergency and fire infrastructure network Strengthen the prisons and jails network and reduce the number of inmates in prisons Set up an armed force Establish a national legal aid system Certify judiciary,Strengthen the consideration of gender
Governance	E-government	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and / or effective interventions to improve the provision of public services using ICT and e-government services. Out of scope for this sub-topic is electronic voting and digitization of land records.	Create a centralized e-governance system: implement and strengthen standards and procedures across public administration; train departmental managers on how ICT can help them simplify tasks; and implement a comprehensive plan to ensure the uptake of ICT Ensure identification of all citizens (birth certificate and voter card),Computerize basic services at departmental level: passport, birth certificate, access to judicial records, archives, etc.)
Governance	Improving public services	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and / or effective interventions to improve public service delivery. Particular focus should be given to revising the public service salary scale.	Improve public service delivery by focusing on human resource deficiencies or issues: revise the salary scale
Governance	Electronic voting	Research the costs and benefits of implementing electronic voting.	Establish an electronic voting system
Governance	Property rights	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and / or effective interventions to address weak property rights in Haiti. Particular focus should be given to considering the digitization of land records.	Digitize regional and central property/land/equipment registers
ICT	Broadband infrastructure	Research the costs and benefits of expanding broadband services and coverage in Haiti	Increase the amount of installed fiber optic line
Decentralization	Models of decentraliza-tion	Using international evidence, estimate the costs and benefits of implementing Haiti's decentralisation policies. If there is a more effective model, demonstrate what it would be and why.	Implement Haiti’s decentralization laws
Economic drivers	Formalization of work	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and/or effective interventions to formalize the informal economy of Haiti.	Offer incentives to the informal sector to formalize (e.g. amnesty) Formalize arrangements for migrant workers to Dominican Republic Expand industrial micro-park to consolidate and formalize operators in small businesses
Economic drivers	Economic zones	Estimate the costs and benefits of establishing special economic zones,including identifying the industries that would be relevant for Haiti (e.g. textiles).	Establish economic zones with production areas that are well equipped, and include tax incentives: in the South – focusing on tourism, P-au-P metropolitan area – focusing on industry and commerce, the Central Plateau – focusing on agriculture, and the North – focusing on tourism and agriculture
Poverty	Social protection	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and/or effective interventions to address extreme poverty, with a focus on social protection programs.	Subsidize households in extreme poverty Protection against inflation Subsidies for health, education including university and technical school, food safety, WASH, electricity
Human Rights and Gender	Sexual and gender based violence	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and / or effective interventions to deal with sexual and gender-based violence.	Make support services and paperwork free for victims of SGBV
Human Rights and Gender	General gender equity measures	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and/or effective interventions to promote gender equity in Haiti.	Create a program to increase access to credit for women Greater gender equity in the workforce Raise the minimum wage for domestic (household) workers
Industrial Policy and Trade	Protection of local industries	Estimate the costs and benefits of protecting local industries, examining the food security, economic growth and technology transfer implications for Haiti. Identify 'best practice' in the area, drawing on international evidence. Also examine if beneficial, which industries should be supported and promoted.	Raise tariffs to boost local production Focus on regional comparative advantages
Industrial Policy and Trade	Trade facilitation + freer trade	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and/or effective interventions to facilitate trade and boost exports.	Create a Product Control Office to improve homogeneity among products
Industrial Policy and Trade	Technology Transfer	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and/or effective interventions to ensure technology transfer to Haiti, with particular focus on encouraging international and local company interactions.	Insert a clause requiring the participation of local companies in tenders
Environment	Waste collection and disposal	Estimate the cost and benefits of establishing a proper and fully functioning waste collection and disposal system in Haiti.	Establish a waste processing center Establish a landfill site in Cap Haitien and Carrefour
Environment	Disaster risk reduction and management	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and / or effective interventions to respond to natural disaster risk.	Establish an information system to better monitor and protect against natural hazards and disasters Build emergency response system and infrastructure to respond to natural disasters and crime and violence Relocate individuals from precarious zones and provide social housing
Environment	Indoor air pollution	Estimate the costs and benefits of distributing clean cookstoves.	Distribute clean cookstoves (LPG, gasifier, biomass) to reduce indoor air pollution
Environment	Agroforestry	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and/or effective interventions to strengthen the agroforestry value chain.	Strengthen the value chain of agroforestry
Agriculture and Food Security	Agriculture value chain - R&D	Estimate the costs and benefits of agricultural R&D for Haitian crops.	Fund R&D to develop seeds / crops resistant to drought and increase yields
Agriculture and Food Security	Agriculture value chain - production	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and / or effective interventions to boost production in agriculture and reduce the seasonality in supply considering all possible interventions along value chain of important crops. R&D is out of scope for this sub-topic.	Invest in irrigation canals in agricultural production areas Create 5 "special" agricultural zones with a focus on the crops that offer high comparative advantages regionally and include agricultural processing plants, subsidized inputs, diversified agricultural production, training, and cost-sharing Improve the regularity of agricultural supply (to off-set seasonality) by a) restructuring the markets b) creating warehouses and other conservation centers and mechanisms c) developing small scale processing j) creating centers for packing and marking
Agriculture and Food Security	Agriculture value chain - access to markets	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent interventions to reduce post-harvest losses and improve market access, considering issues of transport, infrastructure and storage.	Improve post-harvest transportation to reduce post-harvest losses for "madan sara" Improve the regularity of agricultural supply which is seasoned and marked by a lack of conservation mechanisms a) restructure markets b) creating factories or product conservation centers c) develop small scale processing d) create a packing center and marking
Agriculture and Food Security	Agriculture value chain - insurance / disaster risk management of crops	Estimate costs and benefits of providing insurance for farmers.	Subsidize insurance for farmers
Education	Education access and retention	Estimate the costs and benefits of improving access to education in Haiti - focusing on primary schooling, early childhood development and retaining girls in schools.	Provide universal access primary education More early childhood development Improve retention of girls in school (e.g. by providing sanitary napkins)
Education	Adult education - vocational education	Estimate the costs and benefits of a post-secondary vocational education training program.	Create a gap year program for youth which includes vocational and/or technical training in priority sectors (gap year)
Education	Education quality	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and / or effective interventions to improve learning outcomes in education.	Strengthen the capacity of MENFP: Increase the number of schools inspectors Provide preschool and primary education in Creole Increase the number of teacher training institutions (explore use of ICT/distance learning)
Infrastructure	Road infrastructure	Estimate the costs and benefits of more road infrastructure in Haiti.Within the analysis consider whether the use of toll roads or fuel tax would influence the costs and benefits.	Build the road to Gonaives to Port-de-Paix Build bridges for 12 rivers
Energy	Energy infrastructure	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and / or effective interventions to increase energy production / availability in Haiti, focusing on sources of energy (coal, gas, renewables), the structure of the network and prepaid meters.	Build more electricity infrastructure including power plants, prepaid meters and electricity lines
Energy	Off-grid electricity	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and / or effective interventions to provide off-grid electricity generation.	Use renewable energy to power public health centers and hospitals in partnership with the MSPP Use solar energy for lighting public spaces Electrification of rural schools using solar kits Build small-scale diesel generator networks
Urbanization & Migration	Urbanization & Migration	Estimate the costs and benefits of prominent and / or effective interventions to address the challenges and opportunities of urbanization.
WASH	Water and Sanitation	Estimate the costs and benefits of increasing coverage of water and sanitation services.	Increase access to sanitation in urban areas Increase access to water in rural areas