UN: Haiti is seeking $3.8 billion at donors conference to start rebuilding country after quake
By APMonday, March 29, 2010
Haiti seeking $3.8 billion to rebuild country
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. says the Haitian government will be seeking around $3.8 billion at a donors conference on Wednesday to start rebuilding the country after January’s devastating earthquake.
Helen Clark, head of the U.N. Development Program, said this initial amount would enable the country over the next 18 months to begin construction of government buildings, schools, hospitals, health care centers and courthouses that were either destroyed or left unstable.
The U.N. said an assessment prepared by the Haitian government with the support of the international community put the total amount needed for Haiti’s recovery at $11.5 billion.
Edmond Mulet, the top U.N. official in the Caribbean nation, expressed hope Monday that donors will respond generously and make the conference “a turning point for the people of Haiti.”
(This version CORRECTS Corrects dollar figure to billions sted. millions in lede. APNewsNow. For global distribution.)
