Haiti Takes Spotlight in Donor Gathering at IDB

The Inter-American Development Bank hosted a donor conference for Haiti April 14 at its Washington headquarters, which ended with $324 million in aid pledges including $57 million from the United States.The conference centered on the international community's support for projects under Haiti's economic recovery strategy. The two-year program is designed to create 150,000 jobs by promoting investments in infrastructure and the manufacturing sector.Haitian Prime Minister Michele Duvivier Pierre-Louis and IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno co-chaired the event. Speakers included renowned international figures, namely U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Organization of American States Secretary General José Miguel Insulza, Open Society Institute Chairman George Soros, French Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Rama Yade, International Monetary Fund Deputy Managing Director Takatoshi Kato and World Bank Managing Director Juan José Daboub.Any donor commitments will come not a moment too soon for the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Already suffering from food shortages, double-digit inflation and unemployment reaching 70 percent, Haiti's vulnerable are ill-prepared to endure the ramifications of the global economic downturn.The conference takes on added importance with Senate elections just days away and hurricane season rapidly approaching. Last year's four tropical storms and hurricanes left as many as 800 dead.Ban wrote to donors in advance, noting that "[aid] alone will not provide economic security, and what's required is sustainable social and economic development to enable Haiti to move beyond recurrent crises."