“Why Am I Telling You This?”: Reflections on President Clinton’s support for global humanitarian relief.
In recent years, the world has been hit by larger and more frequent natural disasters — the devastating consequence of climate change, with an immense human toll — and scientists predict it will only get worse. In the wake of these crises, responding quickly and understanding the challenges and needs facing people and communities is critical.
In “José Andrés Controls the Fire,” the first episode of the Clinton Foundation’s “Why Am I Telling You This?” podcast, President Bill Clinton sits down with chef, humanitarian, and Clinton Foundation partner José Andrés as he shares stories of working in Haiti, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Mozambique to provide hot meals, human dignity, and hope after catastrophe hits — and how he found his passion for cooking.
Listen now to “José Andrés Controls the Fire” on Apple Podcasts.
This commitment to responding in the wake of disasters isn’t new to the Foundation — or President Clinton’s life in public service. Let’s look back.
1998 — The Clinton Administration coordinated relief efforts for Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch, the deadliest hurricane to hit the Western Hemisphere and the second-deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, caused more than 11,000 fatalities in Central America — more than 7,000 in Honduras alone due to flooding.
Following the 1998 hurricane, President Clinton visited the region on the invitation of five Central American leaders. Brian Atwood, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), also convened a conference to encourage private-sector aid and investment for the long-term recovery of Central American nations. The Clinton Administration coordinated relief efforts that included sending thousands of American troops to the region, committing $284 million in assistance, and providing refinancing and debt relief support.
2004/2005 — President Clinton and President George H.W. Bush lead recovery efforts in response to the Indonesian earthquake and tsunamis
The 2004 earthquake and the subsequent tsunamis were some of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. More than 200,000 people died in 14 countries as a result.
This led President Clinton to join forces with President George H.W. Bush to mobilize recovery efforts in the region and help everyday American’s help those impacted by the disaster. But his efforts didn’t stop there. President Clinton stepped up to bat to serve as United Nations special envoy for tsunami relief efforts. He arrived in Indonesia weeks after the tsunami with the mission to build back better, where he visited communities that had lost everything. President Clinton visited a local school that had only six children in attendance. He visited the only mosque still standing in Banda Aceh. He visited camps filled with internally displaced citizens and listened to story after story from the survivors of the disaster. President Clinton offered warmth and the resolution that the international response needed to offer communities a better life than the one they had prior to the tsunami. He coordinated the largest international disaster response effort in modern history — seeing that local and national leaders in the region were on the frontlines of the relief efforts.
Aiming to create the gold standard of recovery efforts, he supported the creation of a tsunami warning system, advocated for women to play a role in response efforts, promoted the use of sustainable resources in the rebuilding process, and supported new conditions for local entrepreneurs to flourish in the global market. He also laid the groundwork to create a new system for the expenditure of aid that required transparency from governments, donors, and organizations to be held accountable. President Clinton’s vision to build back better is still being used today as the mission behind the Clinton Foundation’s disaster relief efforts.
2008/2010 — President Clinton mobilizes partners and support for Haiti
When Haiti was decimated by a series of hurricanes in 2008, President Clinton called on the CGI community to mobilize at the Annual Meeting that year. More than 30 Commitments to Action were made for recovery efforts, valued at over $100 million when fully realized, which emphasized and elevated the ongoing efforts of the CGI community in Haiti. In 2009, at CGI’s Annual Meeting, members made additional Commitments and joined forces to compare progress and evaluate new opportunities to impact the Haitian community. At this meeting, the Haiti Action Network was formed to stimulate collaboration and widespread impact.
As commitments were being made to build back better, President Clinton was appointed to serve as the United Nations special envoy to Haiti, where he gained a close understanding of the needs of the nation and worked across sectors to establish partnerships to provide immediate relief.
However, in 2010, Haiti was struck by another disaster when an earthquake made landfall and took more than 200,000 lives. Thousands of people were displaced and local infrastructure had crumbled in wake of the disaster. The earthquake left a vast portion of the population without homes, schools, water, electricity, sanitation, and other basic resources. In response, the Haiti Action Network saw the opportunity to intensify their efforts in the region and aimed to pair expertise and resources to provide immediate relief and long term resilience. From engaging local artists and building new schools, to empowering small business owners, CGI commitment-makers demonstrated the power of partnerships to support lasting change in Haiti.
In addition to these efforts, President Clinton worked with former President George W. Bush to establish the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, which focused on long-term reconstruction, supporting workforce development, and the increase of economic opportunity.
2014 —The Clinton Global Initiative community responds to Ebola outbreak in West Africa
In 2014, the Ebola outbreak took thousands of lives and put significant strain on West African economies. In the countries that hit the hardest, vulnerable health care systems, lack of infrastructure, unreliable power supplies, and deficits in health worker capacity crippled the ability to combat the spread of the disease. Aid efforts to move resources into areas affected by the outbreak had been halted due to several factors. Commercial passenger and cargo flights were severely restricted while prices spiked on the remaining commercial transportation options. In addition to that, the affected countries were forced to divert the resources for existing health budgets to combat the crisis, which further deferred essential action on other health priorities. The major impact on regional supply chains mirrored the impact in the wake of natural disasters — the distribution pipeline for medical essentials was shrinking instead of expanding.
That’s why members of the Clinton Global Initiative community partnered with Direct Relief to deliver over 100 tons of medical supplies to communities in West Africa. But the efforts didn’t stop there. After identifying the essential role of public health protocols and institutions to combat public health crises, Direct Relief worked with the Clinton Health Access Initiative along with the Ministries of Health in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The partnership ensured that each item in the airlift was specifically requested and shared with local Ebola task force members.
2017 — Five former presidents launch the One America Appeal
After the United States was hit with a series of disasters from Houston to San Juan, President Clinton worked with all five former presidents to kick off a national fundraising movement to address the immediate relief needs.
Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria tore through coastal regions and left families displaced and in need. The former presidents came together to lend their support to the communities affected and to the first responders, organizations, volunteers, and neighbors who have been providing assistance to victims of the disasters. Despite the unprecedented level of devastation, the progress that was made since the storms has rewritten national disaster response history.
2018 — President Clinton launches of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Action Network
Hurricanes Maria and Irma devastated Puerto Rico and the broader Caribbean region — regarded as the worst storms to have hit the region. Puerto Rico’s power grid was destroyed by Hurricane Maria, leaving 95% of the island without electricity or cell phone service just two weeks after Hurricane Irma had also hit the island.
Following the devastating 2017 hurricane season, local leaders from Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Dominica, and Antigua and Barbuda approached President Clinton to help them build back better. In response, the Clinton Foundation launched the CGI Action Network on Post-Disaster Recovery. Building on CGI’s proven Commitment to Action model, this Action Network brings together leaders from across sectors to develop new, specific, and measurable plans that advance recovery and promote long-term resiliency across the region.
Today, the Clinton Foundation continues to respond to disasters through the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). The CGI Action Network on Post-Disaster Recovery and Relief has already brought together nearly a thousand leaders in government, private sector, and civil society to launch 57 Commitments to Action, helping support access to healthcare and food as well as rebuild infrastructure with clean, renewable energy. This June, the Action Network will hold its fourth meeting in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
To learn more about how the Clinton Global Initiative Action Network is helping the Caribbean build back better for the long-term, visit www.clintonfoundation.org/peoplefirst/clinton-global-initiative/
