Woman cooking in an American Relief Committee Camp

The photo above shows life in a displaced persons camp in Haiti.  Many are living with less.  Extradordinary reconstruction is needed. 

The United States and the United Nations (UN), in cooperation with the Government of Haiti, and with the support of Brazil, Canada, the European Union, France, and Spain,  co-hosted the “International Donors’ Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti” at the United Nations in New York on March 31.   Co-Chairs were UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Haiti President René Préval.

PPAF Executive Director David Stillman had the good fortune to speak briefly with President Clinton at the conference about ideas developed during Stillman’s recent trip to Haiti.   PPAF expects to follow up on this in the coming weeks.

The goal of the donors conference was to mobilize international support for the development needs of Haiti in an effort to lay the foundation for the country’s long-term recovery.  The Prime Minister of Haiti  presented the Action Plan for Haiti’s future and explained how international support can assist. Countries, international organizations, and other partners had an opportunity to pledge resources, to discuss coordination in support of Haiti’s long-term recovery and to commit to a sustained effort to support Haiti.

At the conference, the United Nations Members States and International Partners pledged US$ 5.3 billion for the next two years and US$ 9.9 billion in total for the next three years and beyond. 

View here the Closing Press Conference .   The action plan, the meeting agenda and the final communiqué also available on the www.haiticonference.org site.