29802: (news) Chamberlain: U.N. seeks $98 million assistance for Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     GENEVA, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The United Nations asked on Monday for $98
million to help Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, achieve
stability in the wake of its first election since the 2004 ouster of
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
     The money would be used to help meet humanitarian and development
needs and improve governance standards up to the end of 2007, the U.N. said
in a statement released in Geneva.
     "The appeal also aims to reduce vulnerability among the population,
ensuring that authorities are better prepared in the event of natural
disasters," said Joel Boutroue, deputy special representative of the
Secretary-General for the U.N. Stabilisation Mission in Haiti.
     Despite the presence of a U.N. peacekeeping force, Haiti has struggled
to shake off decades of political violence that peaked with the bloody
rebellion ending Aristide's rule two years ago.
     The Caribbean country remains plagued by brutal armed gangs,
corruption and poor infrastructure.
     Agronomist Rene Preval, who was Haiti's president from 1996 to 2001,
was voted back into power in February.
     But many Haitians complain that the man elected to bring change has
not built roads, freed political prisoners or rooted out corrupt officials.
     More than half of Haitians live below the extreme poverty line of $1
per day, less than 40 percent of those in the capital Port-au-Prince and
other cities have running water, and 4 to 5 percent of the million
population is infected with HIV/AIDS, according to U.N. figures.