Haiti earthquake - aid efforts

EU pledges millions after emergency meeting

Article published on the 2010-01-18 Latest update 2010-01-18 14:47 TU

A woman walks in front of a sign in downtown Port-au-Prince
(Photo: Reuters)

European nations on Monday pledged half a billion euros in reconstruction aid for Haiti after an emergency meeting of development ministers in Brussels, and will send a security mission to help maintain law and order among people desperate for food and water.

Funding will total some 429 million euros, which include emergency aid and long-term reconstruction.

European countries will contribute some 92 million euros, and the European Commission has committed to 30 million euros.

Britain has already tripled its aid to 22.6 million euros, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander announced. And France will release 10 million euros in emergency funds in response to a United Nations appeal, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday in Paris.

About 107 million euros of European funds will be allocated to reconstruction efforts, including rebuilding government infrastructure, and the Commission will contribute another 200 million for long-term reconstruction – funds that were not yet used, or that will be reallocated from other countries

So far, though, direct aid has been difficult to get into Haiti, given the number of planes and ships descending on the country.

Some 280 emergency centres will be set up from Monday in Haiti to distribute aid to earthquake victims and provide shelter for the homeless, a Haitian government source said.

These centres, to be co-ordinated by the UN's World Food Programme, will have an average welcome capacity of around 500 places, and will be installed in public buildings like schools and churches.

The WFP told RFI that it is increasing food distribution each day.

“Today we are going to be distributing food at eight different locations in and around Port-au-Prince, with 200 metric tonnes of food, and we’ll reaching about 100,000 beneficiaries just today,” said Natasha Scripture of the WFP.

All aid organisations are facing logistical challenges, and the WFP is also concerned about violence.

“There is also the challenge of security, and making sure that we do our utmost to share the food, so that it’s not just the people who have the most strength who are getting it,” she said, adding that rioting in an emergency situation is not unusual, especially when the needs are so enormous.

The WFP hopes to reach two million people in their first six months of emergency operations, added to the 1.5 million people who were already considered to be in food insecurity before the earthquake.