Donors pledge helping hand to Haiti -- but is it enough?

Donor countries from around the world gathered in Washington yesterday, wined and dined throughout the day by the likes of Ban Ki-Moon, Hillary and Bill Clinton, and high-profiles academics like Paul Farmer, Jeffrey Sachs and Paul Collier.

The sum total of money -- $324 million -- represents a third of what Prime Minister Pierre-Louis had hoped would be raised. While it is unclear that the billion dollar mark was a realistic expectation in the current global economic climate, the jury is still out on whether this 2-year aid package is likely to make a lasting difference.

Official donor country pledges have not been publicly released, though sources indicate that the US has pledged roughly one-third of the aid total. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Haiti tomorrow before attending the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, where the subject of aid to Haiti will likely be a cause for camaraderie amongst the US and other Lain American nations.

Links to all the keynote remarks at yesterday's IDB conference can be found here.


Sources: Miami Herald, AFP, IDB