US Mission Geneva

It has been six months since a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti and claimed the lives of 230,000 people. Hundreds of thousands more were injured and left homeless. In Haiti’s hour of greatest need the international community responded.

“We are committed to working with the Haitian government and the people of Haiti to develop a sustainable, long-term health care system that will not only help the survivors of the earthquake but increase the ability of Haitians to receive the health care they need inside Haiti delivered by their own trained professionals.”

It’s an honor to be here with so many friends, so many people who have devoted their lives to the important work – the important discipline – of development.

Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Eric P. Schwartz announced in the Dominican Republic yesterday that the Department of State will make additional planned contributions totaling $10.5 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to support the people of Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the aftermath of the January earthquake.

Investment in development has never been more strategically important than it is today. Even in the midst of difficult economic times domestically, helping nations to grow and prosper is not only the moral obligation of a great nation; it is also in our national interest. The investments we make today are a bulwark against current and future threats – both seen and unseen – and a down payment for future peace and prosperity around the world.

The International Donors’ Conference Toward a New Future for Haiti demonstrated an international commitment to Haiti’s short and long-term recovery and yielded more than $9 billion for Haiti’s reconstruction and to support essential social services, governance and broad-based sustainable development, and to defend against natural disasters. Of this amount, more than $5 billion was pledged for 2010 and 2011. Generous in-kind assistance was also announced.

Haitian President René Préval provided an international donors’ conference with a $3.9 billion post-earthquake reconstruction plan to begin the initial work of rebuilding the small Caribbean nation — the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. And international donors responded with $9.9 billion in pledges, which includes more than $5.3 billion for the first two years of reconstruction.

The International Donors’ Conference will be an opportunity for the international community to pledge new financial assistance to help Haiti rebuild, and to mobilize a truly global and sustained international effort to partner with Haiti. The Conference will focus on pledges of assistance for recovery and development, as distinct from the humanitarian assistance so generously provided by over 140 donors so far.

The United States agrees that protecting IDPs remains one of the greatest humanitarian challenges facing the international community today. We recognize the importance of the Representative’s visits to more than 20 countries with conflict-induced internal displacement, and we appreciate his work to highlight key concerns with these visits. The United States will continue to advocate for improved humanitarian access where it is unduly restricted by violence against humanitarian workers or bureaucratic red tape.