Haiti hosts conference for major donors pledged to help rebuild country

(11 May 2013) 1. Mid of former US President and United Nations special envoy to Haiti, Bill Clinton greeting people at donor meeting 2. Various of Clinton talking to people at the meeting 3. Various of diplomats sitting at table 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Bill Clinton, former US President and United Nations special envoy to Haiti: "We need the infrastructure help to make this happen (referring to recovery from earthquake). And Haiti needs it to become truly sustainable and self-sufficient." 5. Mid of camera crews 6. Wide of Michel Martelly, president Haiti (wearing glasses on centre right at table) and Laurent Lamothe, Haitian Prime Minister (left of Martelly) 7. SOUNDBITE (French) Laurent Lamothe, Haitian Prime Minister: "We should help our compatriots who live in a situation that's very difficult, in extreme misery." 8. Wide of donor meeting STORYLINE: Former US President Bill Clinton who serves as the United Nations special envoy to Haiti was among dozens of diplomats who met in Port-Au-Prince on Friday to learn more about a new government panel coordinating billions of dollars donated to Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake. The diplomats in attendance represented countries that donated to Haiti. Countries have pledged 5.4 billion US dollars to help the Caribbean island rebuild from the earthquake, but only a little more than half of that amount has been released. Clinton said during the meeting that infrastructure is key for Haiti to make a full recovery from the disaster. "Haiti needs it to become truly sustainable and self-sufficient," Clinton told diplomats at the meeting. The new government panel coordinating relief funds from donor countries is known by the French acronym, CAED and will be overseen by the Planning Ministry. It replaces an agency established after the earthquake and co-chaired by Clinton before it was shut down in October 2011. Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe created the new government agency in September in an effort to better coordinate aid for rebuilding and to provide more transparency to the process. Lamothe made a renewed plea for help at Friday's meeting. "We should help our compatriots who live in a situation that's very difficult, in extreme misery," he said. The CAED also identifies areas where the government does and doesn't need support to avoid duplicate efforts. Areas requiring attention include education, health, energy, banking and construction. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...