New York, Apr 22 2010 3:10PM
The United Nations and the Haitian Government have launched an online portal to promote the efficient use of the more than $9 billion pledged by donors to help the country recover from January's devastating earthquake.
The Haitian Platform for Public Investment will help hold donors to the promises they made at the 31 March gathering held at UN Headquarters in New York, and ensure transparency and accountability of the use of the funds.
Dozens of nations and organizations pledged some $9.9 billion in immediate and long-term aid at that meeting to help Haiti recover and rebuild after the 12 January quake, which killed more than 200,000 people and left 1.3 million more homeless.
"We see this tool as an important and critical component of Haiti's reconstruction process," <"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2010/april/new-online-portal-to-promote-efficient-use-of-aid-in-haitian-earthquake-recovery.en">said UN Resident Coordinator Nigel Fisher.
"We believe it addresses all the concerns of the international community as to how the funds will be spent, by whom and for what. It also provides a portal through which the people of Haiti can monitor use of the funds and hold their elected representatives accountable for how those funds are spent."
The system, which is part of the support provided by the UN Development Programme (<"http://www.undp.org/">UNDP) to the Haitian authorities, tracks the money from pledge to impact and will include contributions and support from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.
It will also enable Haitian and international journalists to monitor the Government's use of the funds, and to report to their audiences on the progress, according to Eric Overvest, UNDP Haiti Country Director.
Mr. Overvest added that the portal will match pledges with needs "based on empirical data using advanced analytics, showing current projects and any gaps that might exist in areas of development and humanitarian assistance."
The online portal, which is also supported by the UN Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti and which was built with the support of Synergy International Systems and the Development Gateway, is available online at <"http://www.refondation.ht/">www.refondation.ht.
Apr 22 2010 3:10PM
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