(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) As the Region braces for the 2010 hurricane season, expected to be “extremely active”, the urgency of moving the reconstruction process forward in Haiti has intensified.

Some 80 international delegations met at the resort of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic on 2 June for the World Summit on the Future of Haiti, to recommit to the country’s recovery and reconstruction, following the catastrophic earthquake of 12 January.

Held under the theme ‘Solidarity Beyond the Crisis’, the Summit was to concretise the Action Plan for the National Recovery and Development of Haiti, to begin the rebuilding of infrastructure including highways, potable water systems, electricity, housing, schools, and universities.

His Excellency René Préval, President of Haiti, told the meeting that the reconstruction projects to be financed with the $10 billion pledged at the International Donors’ Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti convened by the United States and the United Nations in March, would produce "a more decentralized, fairer Haiti."

Special Representative of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government to Haiti, former Jamaican Prime Minister, Most Honourable P.J. Patterson, informed the meeting of the Community’s readiness to address challenges related to tertiary education in Haiti.

He indicated that CARICOM stood ready to provide expertise for education policies, the drafting of curricula and training as well as institution-building to boost the capacity of the State, which lost 17 per cent of its personnel to the earthquake. The Special representative also underlined the critical importance of communication strategies, “an essential ingredient in building trust”, and an area in which CARICOM had been providing expertise Mr. Patterson extended the Community’s appreciation for the assistance the international community had rendered to its French-speaking Member State.

The CARICOM delegation included Ambassador Colin Granderson, Assistant Secretary-General, Foreign and Community Relations and Ambassador Willys Ramirez, Assistant Secretary-General, CARIFORUM. Jamaica was represented by Ambassador Raymond Wolfe, Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations while Professor Nigel Harris, Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies also participated.

An estimated 1.5 million people were displaced by the earthquake and are living in temporary shelters. With the hurricane season in sight, the Summit discussed the need for prioritizing the construction of durable shelters as well as continuing humanitarian relief efforts to those displaced by the earthquake and to those in non-affected areas. Officials agreed that a number of factors including timely disbursement of donor pledges would add impetus to the recovery process. Brazil is the only major donor to have met its pledge so far, with a disbursement of US$55 million to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF) - a multilateral mechanism set up to aid Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction. The World Bank is the custodian of the Fund, which began operation in April.

Effective coordination of the Action Plan among the Government of Haiti, donors, Non Governmental Organisations and other stakeholders; the provision of budgetary support and technical expertise to the Haitian Government to deliver essential services to citizens; transparency, accountability and effective communication; as well as social and political stability, were viewed as other positive factors that would aid the reconstruction process.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org