GOAL: Haiti requires direct intervention of international community

The decision of the G7 countries to cancel Haiti’s huge debt burden will not, in itself, result in the stricken Caribbean nation making a satisfactory recovery from the recent earthquake, according to GOAL CEO John O'Shea.

“This is a welcome development and unquestionably a significant move on behalf of the world’s richest nations," O'Shea said.

“However, the Haitian Government and Haitian people will require the direct intervention of the international community on a long term basis if the country is to be rebuilt, such was the scale of the devastation caused by the earthquake.

“There remains the need for one powerful country to take responsibility for ensuring that the physical reconstruction of Haiti is completed effectively.

“The business of rebuilding thousands of schools, hospitals, factories and the re-housing of 1.5 million people, can only be achieved by massive assistance from the international community,” Mr. O’Shea added.