Above: UK International Development Secretary Justine Greening (Photo: HA-UK)

By the Caribbean Journal Staff

The United Kingdom has pledged a new commitment of $16.1 million in aid to Haiti to help withstand future natural disasters, International Development Secretary Justine Greening announced Saturday.

The funding will also look to improve donor coordination in getting support to “those who need it,” the UK’s Department for International Development said in a release.

“Today, on this anniversary of the earthquake, the international effort must now be on enabling Haiti to better prepare for, withstand and recover from future shocks,” Greening said. “The UK is committed to working with our international partners to ensure Haiti builds long-term resilience. This means boosting a country’s ability to deal with disasters – whether it is helping people in earthquake zones build to withstand shocks or helping poor farmers to grow drought-resistant crops.”

The UK said it would be working with the United Nations to help build disaster resilience, along with other needs on the ground, including resettlement the nearly 350,000 people still living in tent camps in Haiti.

“We welcome the announcement of UK support for building resilience in Haiti,” said Helen Clark, head of the United Nations Development Programme. “Earthquakes and hurricanes wipe out lives and livelihoods in an instant. So it’s imperative that the international community not only responds to disasters after they happen, but also ensures that at-risk countries like Haiti are better protected, prepared and able to help themselves when a crisis occurs.”