Oxfam calls for international support to help Haiti govt

Oxfam is calling on the Government in Haiti and the donors to start rebuilding the country.

More than 200,000 people were killed in a devastating earthquake there last January while a million people still live in tents.

A cholera epidemic in the aftermath of the quake has claimed the lives of more than 2,600 people.

Julie Schindal of Oxfam in Haiti has said the new Government of Haiti has to take control.

Ms Schindal said: "There's only one legitimate power in this country to implement reconstruction and it is the government of Haiti.

"They need our support, donor support and help from the international community because they have been weak in the past and the challenges are tremendous."

A report released today, “From Relief to Recovery”, blames a lack of progress on a crippling combination of Haitian government indecision, rich donor countries' "too frequent" pursuit of their own aid priorities, and a lacklustre Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, which was established to coordinate reconstruction efforts and build state capacity.

Roland Van Hauwermeiren, country director for Oxfam in Haiti said: "This has been a year of indecision and it has put Haiti’s recovery on hold. Nearly one million people are still living in tents or under tarpaulins and hundreds of thousands of others who are living in the city’s ruins still do not know when they will be able to return home.

"Rebuilding this shattered country will not happen overnight, but there are key decisions on jobs, clearing rubble, house repairs and allocating land for people who will not be able to return to their homes that can and must be made urgently.

"We now need the incoming government of Haiti to take its leadership role. The international community, including NGOs, must unite to support the government so that Haitian authorities will have a chance of succeeding."