On the eve of the third anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Haiti in January 2010, the country remains in a fragile state. Billions of dollars in aid and lofty promises to “build back better” have brought it only so far. A recent article by Deborah Sontag of The Times showed, in disheartening detail, the distance between hope and reality. Ambitious projects are stuck on drawing boards or have been held up, she wrote, “by land and ideological disputes, logistical and contracting problems, staffing shortages and even weather.” A recovery commission led by the Haitian prime minister and former President Bill Clinton was meant to oversee the great rebuilding, but was slow to get started and is now defunct, with not much to show for its 18-month mission. The flood of aid has slowed to a trickle; much of what was promised was never delivered or remains undisbursed, or was disbursed but not actually spent, or was spent on things like emergency food, water and tents, which are important but don’t leave a lasting imprint. Money for long-term recovery has proved hard to spend, or slow to show results.