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US Pledges $1.15 Billion As Haiti Donors Conference Opens

   VOA News 31 March 2010
   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (File)

Photo: AP

   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (File)

   An  international  donors  conference  on  Haiti  has opened at United
   Nations headquarters in New York, with the Caribbean country hoping to
   raise $3.8 billion for rebuilding after January's earthquake.
   U.S.  Secretary  of  State  Hillary  Clinton  began  the conference by
   announcing  the  United States will pledge more than $1 billion toward
   Haiti's reconstruction.
   U.N.  Secretary-General  Ban  Ki-moon  said  he  envisions  "wholesale
   national renewal" for Haiti.  He said the rebuilding process would be
   an  exercise  in  nation-building  on  a  scope  and scale not seen in
   generations.
   Mr.  Ban is hosting the conference with Haitian President René Preval
   and U.S. Secretary of State Clinton.
   The  roughly  $3.8  billion  that  Haiti hopes to raise at Wednesday's
   conference  will  be  the first installment in a 10-year $11.5 billion
   reconstruction plan.
   Officials say the plan will focus on rebuilding schools, hospitals and
   other key infrastructure projects outside the capital, Port-au-Prince,
   in an effort to decentralize the nation's economy.
   Representatives  from  more  than  100 countries are at the high-level
   donors conference.
   United  Nations  officials  have said Haiti will seek the support from
   the international donors to cover reconstruction costs for the next 18
   months.
   On  Tuesday,  the  U.N.  said Haiti still needs immediate humanitarian
   assistance,   even  though  international  attention  has  shifted  to
   long-term  rebuilding.   The  U.N.  Office  for  the  Coordination of
   Humanitarian Affairs, says an initial U.N. appeal for humanitarian aid
   has  been  only  48  percent  covered  and contributions to Haiti have
   stalled.
   The   January   12  earthquake  leveled  much  of  Port-au-Prince  and
   surrounding  areas.   It  left  more  than  217,000 people dead and 1
   million others homeless.  The U.N. says more than 500,000 people have
   left the capital to seek shelter elsewhere in the nation.
   Haiti is the Western Hemisphere's poorest country.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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