Thousands Feared Dead in Massive Haiti Earthquake

[IssaEl21]

Finance ministers from the G7 Industrialized Nations have pledged to forgive some $1.2 billion in debt owed by Haiti following last month’s devastating earthquake. Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty made the announcement during a two-day G7 meeting in the Canadian Arctic town of Iqaluit.

Jim Flaherty, Canadian Finance Minister: “We are committed in the G7 to the forgiveness of debt. In fact, all bilateral debt has been forgiven by G7 countries vis-à-vis Haiti. The debt to multi-natural—multilateral institutions should be forgiven, and we’ll work with these institutions and other partners to make this happen as soon as possible. And we discussed the long-term reconstruction assistance that Haiti will need as it emerges from the current, urgent situation as a result of the earthquake.”

One Million Remain Homeless in Haiti
In Haiti some one million people remain homeless following the January 12 quake. International aid organizations have begun providing temporary housing supplies, but the aid is reaching just a fraction of the homeless population. Over the weekend, Doctors Without Borders handed out 1,800 tents. Last week, the United Nations said that more than 10,000 family-sized tents had been distributed. The United Nations estimates that 460,000 people remain in makeshift camps throughout Port-au-Prince. Meanwhile, medical officials said clinics are still overrun with patients, and doctors are seeing an increase in infectious diseases.

Jean William Pape, head of the GHESKIO clinic in Port-Au-Prince: “We are seeing less acute cases, less trauma cases, but we are starting to see more cases linked to infectious problems, complications of cases that were operated on, as well as water-borne infectious diseases, such as infectious diarrhea.”