20118: (Chamberlain) UN calls for $35 million in urgent aid for Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, March 9 (Reuters) - The United Nations launched
an emergency appeal on Tuesday for $35 million in humanitarian aid to help
troubled Haiti cope with the effects of an armed rebellion launched last
month.
     The appeal would fund urgent humanitarian needs over six months for
more than 3 million of Haiti's 8.3 million people, most of them women and
children, the United Nations said.
     "The recent turmoil has made life even more precarious for the people
of Haiti, who need aid now more than ever," said U.N. Emergency Relief
Coordinator Jan Egeland.
     "To prevent more suffering, donors must respond quickly," Egeland said
in a statement.
     Haiti is the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, and as many as a
third of its people suffered from chronic malnutrition even before the
rebellion began. The Caribbean country has been further shaken by the
rebellion that led to the Feb. 29 departure, under international pressure,
of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.