UNICEF Regional Director Nils Kastberg visits Haiti
“We have to do our best to achieve free and universal education for all children in Haiti.”
The UNICEF Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean Region, Mr. Nils Kastberg, ended today his two-day visit
in Haiti. Nils Kastberg co-chaired along with the Minister of Planning and External Cooperation, a high level meeting on
the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the five year plan of collaboration between UNICEF and the government of Haiti. In
addition, Mr. Kastberg and the national authorities officially launched today the State of the World Children Report
2005 in Cité Soleil, one of the most impoverished areas in the capital Port-au-Prince.
While addressing participants of the MTR meeting, Mr. Kastberg stressed the importance of a good partnership between the
Government, organisations of bilateral and multilateral cooperation as well as the civil society. “We are utterly
committed to working with you in order to take up the challenges facing the children of Haiti”, said Nils Kastberg. “We
should be able to reduce acute malnutrition within five years and attain the objective of education for all in 2015. All
we need is to work together hand in hand with clear objectives and common strategies.” With regard to HIV/AIDS, Mr.
Kastberg called upon all Haitians to learn from countries such as South Africa and Swaziland where the prevalence rate
has sky rocked within a few years time. “We can never warn enough about HIV/AIDS.”
According to the Regional Director who also met with the President of the Republic of Haiti, Mr. Boniface Alexandre,
“all of us should reflect in our work what we want to do for Haitian children and how we can achieve it”. He welcomed
the drafting of a Child National Code, which will be adopted soon, as an important element in the establishment of a
protective environment for children. “It is the ultimate protection framework for the rights of children, above all for
the most vulnerable ones”, stressed Mr. Kastberg.
The MTR of the Programme of Cooperation between UNICEF and the government of Haiti for 2002 to 2006, which took place on
21 February 2005 in Port-au-Prince, enabled the Government, UNICEF and partners to evaluate the results attained and the
lessons learnt from the last three years and to better direct future intervention in the light of the current
socio-political context as well as the situation of women and children. All indicators in Haiti have been continuously
in decline due to the political crisis and natural disasters that have hit the country in 2004. The living conditions of
many families have worsened. Access to basic health services, nutrition, and education is affected and the child
protection mechanisms have weakened.