WASHINGTON – At a meeting at the OAS called by Assistant Secretary General Ambassador Albert R. Ramdin, Chairman of the Haiti Task Force, representatives from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) discussed this week mechanisms for stronger cooperation on Haiti among Inter-American agencies.
Ambassador Albert Ramdin noted that the five inter-American agencies have already identified steps to work toward the creation of synergies for more effective collaboration and implementation of projects and lasting impact on the ground in Haiti.
Ambassador Albert Ramdin
Consistent efforts to strengthen collaboration aim to ultimately elaborate an initiative for an Inter-American Program for Haiti, which would include the development and implementation of joint project proposals. “In my view it is of critical importance to intensify the collaboration between the Inter-American institutions, not only in Washington DC, but also on the ground in Haiti and to coordinate development assistance as best as we can, to make the best use of the available resources”, Ramdin argued, adding that “coordination of donor assistance is still a weak element in the overall efforts towards the Republic of Haiti.”
“The OAS will also study the modalities for the creation of a Hemispheric Development Fund for Haiti, as called for by the Heads of State and Government during the recently held V Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago. This is part of the resolution on Haiti which was adopted at the OAS General Assembly in Honduras”, Ramdin said, indicating that he expects this report on the modalities to be available in 8 weeks time.
To underscore ongoing commitment to Haiti of the international community, the OAS Assistant Secretary General also announced that preparations are on-going for the proposed high-level mission to Haiti in early September. The delegation would include representatives of the five inter-American agencies, representatives of Member States, lawmakers and the media. The mission will have the opportunity to witness first hand the current situation in Haiti and to view projects undertaken by Inter-American institutions that are having concrete and positive impacts on Haiti.
