The Inter-American Development Bank expects to contribute around $260 million in new soft loans to Haiti for the period 2004-2006, IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias announced today at a donor conference held in Washington, D.C. to raise financial support for Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
The fresh resources would expand the IDB’s existing loan portfolio in Haiti, which includes around $340 million in undisbursed financing for ongoing projects in key sectors such as health, education, drinking water and sanitation, agriculture, roads and basic infrastructure.
These projects dovetail with the political, economic and social priorities established in the Interim Cooperation Framework (ICF), an assessment of Haiti’s most pressing development needs for the next two years conducted by experts from donor countries, multilateral agencies, civil society and the private sector, under the leadership of the provisional Haitian government.
“We firmly believe that fostering democracy, open political dialogue and a development strategy centered on human development, particularly in favor of the poor, is the right path to a better future for Haiti,” Iglesias said in his speech at the World Bank, which co-hosted the donor meeting together with the IDB, the European Commission and the United Nations.
Iglesias congratulated Haiti’s interim prime minister, Gerard Latortue, and his cabinet for the pragmatic approach with which they devised the ICF, which gauged the country’s overall financing needs for the period between July 2004 and September 2006.
The programs and activities included in the ICF, which covers 20 priority sectors, have an estimated cost of $1.37 billion. Since Haiti had already identified some $440 million available for such projects, the July 19-20 donor conference sought to raise more than $920 million in pledges to fill the financing gap.
In order to avoid repeating errors that foiled past international attempts to aid Haiti, the new effort should emphasize practical solutions to speed up the execution of projects, strengthen the Haitian public sector and ensure transparency and accountability in the use of funds, Iglesias said.
In line with ICF goals of boosting job creation and generating income for the poor, IDB-financed projects seek to employ labor-intensive methods, for instance in public works to improve roads. The IDB is also assisting the Haitian public sector to strengthen its capacity to carry out crucial activities such as administering public resources and collecting taxes.
The IDB, whose country office in Port au Prince remained in operation throughout Haiti's recent crises, is also coordinating its activities closely with donor nations and other multilateral agencies to ensure an efficient and effective investment of the international community's resources.
Besides thanking traditional donor countries and multilateral agencies for responding so quickly to Haiti’s plight, Iglesias praised the efforts made by the Organization of American States and the CARICOM Caribbean nations to preserve democracy in Haiti and foster dialogue among the country’s political factions.
He also highlighted how various Latin American countries have taken the lead in the peacekeeping mission in Haiti, under the auspices of the United Nations. Those same countries, he added, are also ready to support Haiti’s efforts to restore economic growth and social justice.