Brussels, 10/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - Four years ago, on 12 January 2010, the ACP country, Haiti, was struck by a devastating earthquake. The EU is still providing humanitarian assistance and aid to reconstruction and development given the country's huge needs.
For 2014-2020, the EU plans to allocate €420 million to Haiti under the 11th European Development Fund (compared with €883 million between 2008 and 2013). Aid will be used for education, state reform, modernisation of the civil service, the development of urban areas and infrastructure, and food security and nutrition.
Education. EU support will aim to improve the quality of the country's education system, support access to primary education for children with deficiencies, and increase the employability of youth and business development through the development of the quality and offer of vocational training.
Urban development. The EU will support the country's most vulnerable areas, providing planned and managed development of urban areas, and improved roads and access to essential services (water, sanitation, electricity and waste collection). It will also help communities to build their own houses in a safer hurricane- and earthquake-proof way.
Food security. The EU will increase its support to improve the population's access to food by, for example, increasing agricultural production, and the commercialisation of agricultural products, as well as enhancing nutritional education, setting up an improved system for data collection and analysis, and helping the government to predict food shortages, strengthening family agriculture, and establishing quality control and a certification system for agricultural products and livestock.
Support for the state. EU aid will strengthen the government's ability to reduce poverty, improve access to basic services and stimulate growth. Special aid will be devoted to the modernisation of the public administration and the improvement of the public finance system, transparency of public spending and the fight against corruption. A new budget support programme of €112 million has just been adopted and will commence in January 2014.
In total, humanitarian aid provided for Haiti over the period 2011-2013 has now reached €91.25 million. It has allowed lives to be saved and shelter, food and healthcare to be provided. Since 2010, the EU has committed €570 million for the financing of projects in several priority areas, including the state budget, road renovation, agriculture, education, human rights, food security, electoral assistance and aid to trade. (AN/transl.jl)