OTTAWA—Canada will provide an additional $400 million in aid and debt relief to earthquake-devastated Haiti over the next two years, International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda announced on Wednesday.
“Recovery and reconstruction will take years and Canada will stand behind these efforts supporting the Haiti Action Plan and the priorities of the Haitian Government,” she said at United Nations headquarters in New York City during the International Donors’ Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti.
“In all of our support for Haiti, we must demonstrate accountability, transparency and results to the international community, to Canadians and, in particular, to the people of Haiti.”
The Haitian government’s Action Plan for National Recovery and Development requested US$3.86 billion over the next 18 months.
An assessment carried out by a team of some 250 Haitian and international experts estimated that US$11.5 billion is required to cover the total cost of reconstruction.
By Wednesday evening 59 countries or international institutions had pledged more than US$9.8 billion over the next two years and beyond.
After a 10-year reconstruction and recovery period, the goal is to turn Haiti into an emerging country by 2030.
