Record $176 million Disbursed In Haiti In 2010

WASHINGTON - Over a million Haitians may be living in tent cities almost a year after the devastating January 12th earthquake while thousands more are battling cholera due to poor health care in the Caribbean nation, but millions were poured into the country this year.

That`s according to the IDB, which said it disbursed a record $176 million in grants to Haiti this year. That included outlays for school reconstruction, budget support and other basic services devastated by the earthquake.

In addition to this record amount, the IDB in the coming weeks will disburse a $15 million emergency grant to help Haiti fight cholera, which was approved on Dec. 15 by the IDB`s Board of Executive Directors. The Bank`s anti-cholera operation is coupled with a $5 million donation from Spain for a total grant of $20 million.

The IDB also provided non-reimbursable technical cooperation grants for $6.5 million, including $1.5 million for improving child survival and for social safety nets programs. Haiti obtained a further $17 million in disbursements from the Canadian government, the EU and OPEC through IDB-run projects. All together, IDB grants, technical cooperation grants and third-party disbursements add up to $ 199.5 million for Haiti through a variety of IDB mechanisms.

The IDB said its disbursements were the most of any multilateral source of assistance to Haiti since its tragic earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010.

The record disbursements come as the IDB has approved an unprecedented $251 million in grants for Haiti in 2010, compared with $122 million in 2009. The high approval levels herald potentially bigger disbursements in 2011.

The disbursements come as the country continues to struggle to finalize elections in Haiti and as current President, Rene Preval, insists he could stay on after Feb. 7th if there is no agreement on a new leader before then.