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UNICEF advocates ‘citizen watchdog’ to monitor aid to Haiti

UNICEF advocates ‘citizen watchdog’ to monitor aid to Haiti

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The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is urging the creation of a “citizen watchdog” to support accountable reconstruction in Haiti, where past efforts at assistance have been hampered by corruption.

The initiative, known in French as an 'observatoire citoyen,' would engage with the interim government to monitor budgets and expenditure, according to UNICEF, which said its proposal is receiving increasing support from the Haitian authorities and civil society.

“The international community has long provided large-scale assistance to Haiti, but they were often looking for quick fixes, instead of the steady hand of accountable spending in the social sector,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Kul Gautam. “The observatoire citoyen will be a bridge between the government and the people of Haiti.”

UN statistics indicate a deteriorating situation in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. While a Haitian child born in 1990 could expect to live 13 years less than his or her peers in Latin America, a child born today will live 17 years less. More than 200,000 Haitian children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

The rural poor spend on average 13 per cent of all their resources for school fees. One school uniform alone costs them more than three weeks' income. But they often get little for their investment as schools are generally overcrowded and have few facilities.

“Over the past decades, a succession of Haitian governments have contributed to the country's decline by misusing funds, focusing on wasteful projects rather than human development priorities and avoiding accountability for their actions,” said Mr. Gautam.

“Investment in Haiti must be done in consultation with Haitians and in a way that builds administrative capacity and a national consensus on poverty reduction that benefits all, starting with children.”