ABSTRACT
Cholera, a waterborne disease, has proven to be a persistent problem in Haiti since its introduction in 2010. This chapter explores examples of how stakeholders at three different scales defined the problem and interacted with each other as they responded to cholera. At the policy level, coalitions of stakeholders formulated strategic plans and documents intended to attract and allocate resources. At the sector level, the household water treatment and storage working group attempted to set sectorwide regulations. At the organizational level, one social enterprise NGO strove to increase its own impact on cholera transmission. Problem definitions varied between stakeholders and scales, and this led to evolving complexity of the problem over time. Uncertainty of resources and issues of distrust created challenges for successful stakeholder engagement at all three levels. Incomplete progress toward cholera response goals stemmed more from a failure to recognize these sources of complexity and adapt to them than from “wrong” choices with respect to technical solutions. The Water Diplomacy Framework can add value by directing leaders to diagnose and adapt to existing levels of trust, certainty, and consensus instead of assuming that ideal conditions exist.
