Why is the UN having to defned the aid work going on in Haiti?
By Tom Brown and Joseph Guyler Delva Tom Brown And Joseph Guyler Delva – Tue Jan 19, 5:46 pm ET PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – U.S. Black Hawk helicopters swooped down on Haiti’s wrecked presidential palace to deploy troops and supplies on Tuesday as a huge international relief operation to help earthquake survivors gained momentum. The airborne troops in combat gear moved to secure Port-au-Prince’s nearby General Hospital, where staff have been overwhelmed by patients seriously injured in the 7.0 magnitude that destroyed much of Haiti’s capital one week ago. Their arrival brought crowds of quake survivors camped out in the park opposite the palace rushing to its iron railings to gawk and beg for handouts of food. It was one of the most visible and potentially sensitive deployments so far by the U.S. military, which is spearheading international efforts to assist millions of injured and homeless Haitians. At least one Latin American leader, Venezuela’s socialist President Hugo Chavez, a fi
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday unanimously approved 3,500 extra troops and police officers to beef up security in Haiti and ensure that desperately needed aid gets to earthquake victims as the world body defended itself against criticism that millions still don’t have food or water. A week after the magnitude 7.0 quake struck, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said the U.N. food agency distributed rations for nearly 200,000 people. It is a small percentage of the 3 million to 3.5 million the U.N. says have been affected. Ban said the U.N. goal is to increase the number of people receiving food to 1 million this week and at least 2 million in the following two weeks. “The situation is overwhelming,” Ban told reporters. But he said “initial difficulties and bottlenecks” in delivering relief items are being overcome and U.N. relief operations “are gearing up quickly.” He cited a new system at the airport giving priority to humanitarian flights, the opening of five
The United Nations says its earthquake relief coordination is working well in Haiti, dismissing criticism over how the U.S. controls the Port-au-Prince airport. U.N. spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs defended U.S. efforts, saying the airport wouldn’t be working without U.S. military help and crediting the U.S. with bringing great aid and expertise to the impoverished nation. Her comments come after an agreement Monday to ensure that the U.S. would give aid flights priority in landing in the Haitian capital. The U.S. had been criticized for giving military and rescue aircraft top landing rights. Byrs said the U.N. was in charge of coordinating aid. But she declined to say how its relationship with the U.S. worked, saying American missions didn’t require U.N. authorization. Sources: http://news.yahoo.
