It is three
years since Haiti was devastated by the earthquake that killed up to 300,000
people on January 12, 2010. Today more
than 350,000 Haitians are still living in tents.
Most of the rubble
has now been cleared from the streets, but around 3 million Haitians are
without formal jobs. Over the last
two and a half years, more than 7,500 people have died from cholera, which becomes
more dangerous every time a tropical storm strikes.
Last year one of
those storms inflicted a further blow when it caused huge damage to crops,
sending the cost of living spiralling upwards, and now many of the donor
programmes set up after the quake have come to an end.
Billions of
dollars in aid were promised in the wake of the disaster, but according to the
UN Special Envoy, many pledges have not been fulfilled, and now the organisation is
launching a new appeal. One donor who
has come up with the goods is President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who provides subsidised
oil worth about $400m a year.
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