Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-18-Speech-2-597-000"
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"en.20110118.22.2-597-000"2
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"Madam President, may I also join you in expressing sympathy to those affected and their families.
We are also supporting Commissioner Piebalgs in linking relief to rehabilitation and development. For instance, some of the 9th EDF ‘B’ envelope funds will be allocated for housing programmes in close coordination with our humanitarian support. I want to stress here that we have been looking at the situation in Haiti comprehensively with a view not only to helping people in immediate need but also to building the foundation for longer-term recovery.
A year ago, we witnessed in Haiti one of the worst natural catastrophes in recent history, but this also triggered one of the best displays of solidarity, with people whose resilience in the face of disaster and disorder is a lesson of courage to us all. One year after the disaster, we would like to pay tribute to those who died, but also to those who have survived. We promised them our help, and we stand by our promises.
The EU is a critical part of the global solidarity effort for Haiti. We have mobilised all the means available to provide both humanitarian assistance and, as Commissioner Piebalgs will outline later, development aid to rebuild the country.
After the earthquake, the EU pledged more than EUR 320 million in pure humanitarian aid, of which the Commission provided EUR 130 million for last year, 2010.
These funds allowed us to touch the lives of more than four million Haitians through food assistance, sanitation and shelter. Close to 1.5 million people have been provided with a place to stay: a basis from which to re-start their life. Our assistance targeted not only Port-au-Prince but also other affected cities – Léogâne and Jacmel – and we followed, with aid, the 500 000 Haitians who left Port-au-Prince to live with relatives in rural areas, bringing food, water and medical care, clearing the roads and supporting cash-for-work programmes.
Our current humanitarian assistance is focusing on cholera, using EUR 22 million to cover the most essential needs in terms of healthcare, access to proper water supplies and sanitation, information campaigns, epidemiological surveillance and logistics. We have funded treatment for 158 000 people so far but, more significantly, we have provided clean water for half a million and access to safer sanitation for 900 000 people, we have raised awareness among one million Haitians about what cholera is, how to avoid getting sick and how to treat cholera, and we have distributed 1.3 million soaps and chlorine tablets to affected communities.
We had hoped that one year after the earthquake, the situation would be better, but it is not. For this reason, we are budgeting for this year, 2011, EUR 33 million. We stand ready to provide more if more help is necessary.
For 2011, our priorities will be housing, sanitation and healthcare. We will continue to tackle poor sanitation because it is obviously a risk in terms of cholera spreading and affecting communities. We will also continue to assist with healthcare, but the healthcare system of Haiti is a shambles. It is not there to help people.
In this process, we have relied on humanitarian aid workers and I want to express my gratitude to those who have been risking their lives to help the Haitian people."@en1
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