WASHINGTON — A conference Tuesday led by the United Nations and Haiti’s government brought pledges of $600 million to help Haiti recover from a powerful earthquake that struck southern Haiti last year.
The pledges included $50 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development focused on food security, agricultural jobs, nutrition programs and financial education.
The European Union added more than $30 million in grants, while Canada pledged nearly $20 million in aid.
Haiti’s government has identified $2 billion in recovery programs following the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that killed an estimated 2,200 people and damaged more than 130,000 homes.
The earthquake also devastated the education system, destroying 70% of schools in the region.
“The government is doing all it can with the means it has,” Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry said.
Amina Mohammed, a deputy U.N. secretary-general, said the total price tag for the recovery effort is “daunting,” but that the people of Haiti “deserve a stable, peaceful and prosperous future.”
“We are aware that aid budgets are under pressure across the globe. We also know there is donor fatigue. And we have heard, loud and clear, concerns about the results of aid in Haiti. But this is not the time to give up,” she said.
Source: Voice of America