The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it has cancelled Haiti’s $268 million (€209 million) debt and will lend the earthquake-devastated island another $60 million (€47 million) to help with reconstruction.
The International Monetary Fund said the decision is part of a plan for long-term reconstruction after the 7-magnitude quake on January 12 killed as many as 300,000 people and left 1.6 million homeless.
The agency said the decision will encourage aid contributions to the impoverished country.
IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in a statement that donors must deliver on their promises “so reconstruction can be accelerated, living standards quickly improved and social tensions soothed”.
The three-year loan carries a zero interest rate until 2011 which then rises to no more than 0.5 per cent.
Concern Worldwide called today’s announcement “very significant” but they also expressed “reservations” about the new loan to the country.
Ceo Tom Arnold said financial assistance would be better given in the form of grants and not loans.
“The level of devastation is such that it will take years to rebuild the infrastructure and economy. We believe that Haiti should not be encumbered with further debt for the foreseeable future,” he said.
Additional reporting AP