UN Alarmed At Lack Of Global Support For Haiti’s Immediate Agricultural Needs
New York, Feb 12 2010 12:10PM
United Nations agencies voiced alarm today at the lack of global support for Haiti's immediate agricultural needs, such
as seed and fertilizers to ensure food from the next planting season, while stressing that disaster mitigation
techniques must figure fully in the country’s reconstruction from last month’s devastating earthquake.
“At a time when Haiti is facing a major food crisis we are alarmed at the lack of support to the agricultural component
of the Flash Appeal,” UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Jacques Diouf <"http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/40026/icode/">told a high-level meeting in Rome to coordinate UN efforts for the medium- and long-term recovery of the poorest
country in the Western Hemisphere.
The $575-million UN appeal launched shortly after the 12 January quake, which killed some 200,000 people, injured many
others and left 2 million in need of aid, sought $23 million for immediate agricultural needs. “But only 8 per cent of
this sum has so far been funded,” Mr. Diouf said. “The economic and social reconstruction of Haiti requires a revival of
food production and massive investment in rural areas.
“The immediate priority is support for the farm season that begins in March and accounts for more than 60 per cent of
the country’s food production,” he added, noting that FAO has already started to distribute seeds, fertilizer and tools
to enable farmers to plant for the next harvest.
But he also underlined the need for “massive sustained international assistance for a long period” to achieve
sustainable growth that will dramatically reduce hunger and poverty. This requires Rome-based UN agencies to better
coordinate their efforts and he proposed the creation of a tripartite task force grouping FAO, the World Food Programme
(WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran, IFAD President Kanayo Nwanze and Haiti’s Agriculture Minister, Joanas Gue,
attended today’s meeting.
Meanwhile, the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) is working with donors and partners to ensure
that Haiti’s schools, hospitals and houses will be rebuilt in a manner that integrates strategic planning to mitigate
these multi-hazard risks.
“It will take a minimum of 10 years to rebuild Haiti but it is important to start building safer schools, hospitals and
critical infrastructure now,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction
Margareta Wahlström <"http://www.unisdr.org/news/v.php?id=12669">said today, noting that collapsed buildings and unstable land were the prime contributing factors to the high death
toll during January’s quake.
She stressed the need to “ensure that corruption does not undermine reconstruction efforts, particularly as the building
sector in Haiti has witnessed severe corruption cases in the past. Cutting corners and using sub-standard building
practices contributed to the significant loss of life,” Ms. Wahlström said.
She also cited the “great urgency now to give particular attention to structural safety for temporary schools, hospitals
and camp settlements” in view of the upcoming rainy and hurricane seasons, noting that camps must be built in safe
locations with resistant materials and adequate drainage.
With aid and services still not reaching a significant portion of quake victims and many people still lacking basic
amenities such as shelter, food, water and medical assistance, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today urged countries to suspend all involuntary returns of
Haitians to their homeland and to continue granting interim protection measures on humanitarian grounds.
“We are particularly concerned about the large numbers of highly vulnerable people, including the injured as well as
separated or orphaned children,” they added in a joint communiqué.
On another note, Mr. Ban has wished former United States President Bill Clinton, his Special Envoy for Haiti, a speedy
recovery from the heart procedure he underwent in hospital yesterday, thanking him for his “tremendous work on behalf of
the United Nations for the people of Haiti.”
ENDS