I just can’t believe after all those telethons,fund raisers, and concerts, that six months later most of that money has not reached the people of Haiti. Boy do we still have alot to learn when it comes to responding to disaster. More below:
A woman prepares pork for lunch in a street known as Route des Rails in Port-au-Prince July 21, 2010. At least 1500 people are living at the street with about 200 improvised tents after an earthquake hit the Caribbean republic on January 12, 2010 which killed more than 300,000 and left 1.5 million people homeless. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
via Yahoo
PARIS – The IMF says it has canceled Haiti’s $268 million debt and will lend the earthquake-devastated country another $60 million to help it with reconstruction plans.
The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday the decision is part of a plan for long-term reconstruction after the Jan. 12 magnitude-7 quake, which killed as many as 300,000 people.
The three-year loan carries a zero interest rate until 2011 which then rises to no more than 0.5 percent.
The Washington-based fund says its moves should encourage aid contributions to the impoverished country.
“Donors must start delivering on their promises to Haiti quickly, so reconstruction can be accelerated, living standards quickly improved and social tensions soothed,” IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in a statement.
In Haiti more than six months after the quake, rubble and collapsed buildings still dominate the landscape.
The number of people in relief camps has nearly doubled to 1.6 million, while the amount of transitional housing built is minuscule. Crime is more prevalent since the quake, with attacks in camps terrorizing thousands, especially women and girls.
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