Haiti unveils 11 billion dollar reconstruction plan

Haiti has unveiled the first draft of an ambitious reconstruction plan that calls for 11.5 billion dollars to help rebuild the country after January’s earthquake. Prepared with the help of several countries, it focuses on the massive long-term economic and governmental challenges the country faces.

The Preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment (PDNA) will provide the framework for discussions at a donors’ conference in New York on 31 March.

The plan, compiled by 250 Haitian and international experts, examines the problems Haiti must address to become a fully-functioning state.

It gave a new death toll in Haiti of 222,570 and put the total damage from the 7.0 magnitude quake at 7.9 billion dollars. - a massive 120 per cent of Haiti’s gross domestic product.

More than 70 per cent of these losses were sustained by the private sector, with 4.4 billion dollars worth of damage to schools, hospitals and transport infrastructure.

One major focus is regenerating the rest of Haiti to end years of congestion and poverty in the capital Port -au-Prince. The report said more than 500,000 people have been displaced to secondary towns following the quake.

The main short-term priority identified is preparing those without shelter for the upcoming hurricane season. According to the latest UN figures, 218,000 survivors are currently living in makeshift camps in Port-au-Prince, at grave risk from flooding.