IDB’s early holiday gift to Haiti

As we’ve noted before, Haiti’s citizens have been going through some very rough times over the past several months. (Worse than usual for the Western Hemisphere’s most impoverished country.)

Therefore, any assistance for the Caribbean country is more than welcome:

The Inter-American Development Bank will double its aid to Haiti next year to help the impoverished nation upgrade its crumbling infrastructure and broaden social programs, the bank's chief announced Sunday.

IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno, in comments at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, said the bank will double its grants to Haiti to US$100 million for 2009 to help the country's government with a raft of vital investments.

"Haiti is the most fragile of our member countries. No other nation in Latin America and the Caribbean is as vulnerable to economic shocks and natural disasters," Moreno said. "It requires extraordinary assistance from the international community."

The additional $50 million from the IDB will help fund several projects including the establishing of a social development fund and a potable water project for several cities.

Image- Al Jazeera English (Tropical storms swept through Hispaniola during the summer).
Sources- The Latin Americanist, miamiherald.com, AP