UN mission official in Haiti praises Government-donor cooperation on projects

Two Goodwill Ambassadors for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), international football stars Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane of Real Madrid, have raised $120,000 for humanitarian projects in a Haitian shanty town, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) said.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Haiti, Adama Guindo, who is also the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) in the Caribbean country, and Prime Minister Gérard Latortue signed an agreement yesterday to use the funds for education, health care and sanitation in Cité Soleil, the sprawling, impoverished seaside district in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, MINUSTAH said.

UNDP helped to organize the second "Match against Poverty – Ronaldo and friends vs. Zidane and friends" last December in Madrid, Spain, with part of the proceeds going to Haiti and the rest to some African countries.

Meanwhile, marking the first anniversary of the Interim Cooperative Framework for Haiti, known as CCI, MINUSTAH deputy chief Mr. Guindo addressed members of the Haitian Government, representatives of the international community and journalists.

He lauded the cooperation between the Government and donor countries during CCI’s first year and praised the Government for its efforts to make its processes more transparent.

Mr. Latortue said CCI’s achievements included “nearly 200 schools rehabilitated (and) a total of 300 kilometres of road repaired or newly constructed,” projects which had created thousands of jobs.