The United States and Canada have pledged more than $30 million to strengthen stability in Haiti, the United States is providing a $20 million grant to the Haitian government for a youth employment program in the Caribbean country’s capital of Port-au-Prince. Canada is earmarking $10 million.
The grant, announced February 1 by R. Nicholas Burns, U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs, will aid one of Port-au-Prince’s poorest sections, called Cité-Soleil, where gang-related violence runs rampant.
Speaking at a briefing at the State Department with Haitian Foreign Minister Jean Reynald Clerismé, Burns said the U.S. assistance will “provide the kind of encouragement through employment to help stabilizeâ€