Martelly: Haiti “Determined” to Promote Sustainable Development

Above: Haiti President Michel Martelly in Rio (Photo: OP)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Haiti is determined to promote sustainable development in the country and to create development initiatives in the long term, according to Haitian President Michel Martelly.

Martelly was speaking Thursday at the UN’s Rio+20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, where he expressed his support for the approach of World Food Programme Director Ertharin Cousin.

The WFP chief said the expansion of support for resilience was particularly important in countries like Haiti, where climate conditions and volatile food prices prevent many people from feeding their families.

“There can be no truly sustainable development if people suffer from food insecurity,” said Cousin, who recently visited Haiti. “What we need in countries like Haiti, often affected by emergencies, are multi-year funding commitments that can help build sustainable systems in nutrition, education, and increased rural revenues.”

Cousin, who held talks in Rio with Martelly, said intended to work with Haiti’s government to extend its school feeding programme, along with other actions aimed at eradicating chronic and acute malnutrition in the country.

Martelly said he supported Cousin’s approach, and that Haiti’s sustainable development must go through these types of projects if Haiti is to eliminate hunger by 2025.

“We appreciate the efforts of the WFP, which will help make this goal a reality,” Martelly said.