New York, Mar 30 2010 10:10AM
Under a new plan unveiled by the United Nations World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/wfp-launches-strategy-bring-social-security-and-stability-haiti">WFP) today, Haiti's human capital will play a crucial role in the country's recovery following January's catastrophic earthquake through food-for-work projects to stimulate the agricultural sector.
Working in concert with donors and the Haitian Government, WFP is seeking to procure food locally and is also pre-positioning food, trucks and other supplies before the start of the hurricane season for the strategy, which is kicking off as the agency's emergency response phase is winding down.
Schoolchildren will be fed a daily, nutritious meal under the new scheme, while pregnant and nursing women, malnourished children under the age of five, orphans and hospital patients will also receive food supplies.
More than 200,000 people were killed in the 12 January earthquake, which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale.
Since the disaster, WFP has reached nearly 3.5 million people with rice, flour, beans, oil and other supplies, thanks to contributions of $260 million from donors.
But more than $150 million is still required to launch cash and food-for-work projects, as well as provide logistical support in advance of the hurricane season, in its next phase of operations, the agency said.
Also on Haiti, a UN human rights expert <"http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=9949&LangID=E">warned today that donors must not only focus on the country's physical and institutional reconstruction, but also on ensuring the rights of its citizens to prevent creating the conditions that made January's quake so devastating.
"The loss of an estimated 220,000 lives in the 12 January earthquake cannot be solely attributed to an act of nature," said Michel Forst, the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti.
He pointed to the policies and poor governance that resulted in many Haitians living in poverty and in inadequate housing as having "clearly amplified the deadly impact of the earthquake, as well as of the hurricanes that periodically test Haiti's preparedness and the strength of its infrastructure."
More than 100 countries will take part in the International Donors Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti to be held at UN Headquarters in New York tomorrow. The meeting will be led by Haitian President René Préval, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Hillary Clinton, United States Secretary of State, as co-hosts, and UN Special Envoy for Haiti, former President Bill Clinton.
The conference will be co-chaired by Brazil, Canada, the European Union, France and Spain, as the leading donors to Haiti.
Under the yet-to-be-detailed plan, an Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission would channel nearly $4 billion into specific projects and programmes during the next 18 months, with the remaining funds spread over the next decade.
"Those responsible for the country's reconstruction, at the national and international levels, must guard against recreating the same factors that helped perpetuate rampant inequality and poverty, as well as widespread violence," Mr. Forst said today.
As welcome as donor aid is, plans and strategies must be driven by the needs and rights of "ordinary Haitians, rather than imposed according to some external model."
Of vital importance, the expert said, is the future of Haiti's legal system to ensure the human rights of the population.
Mar 30 2010 10:10AM
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