Youngsun Jung, Senior Director of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), has signed two implementation agreements with Ms. Yvonne Helle, Country Director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), regarding the funding of two projects projects in Haiti totaling nearly 7 million US dollars...

The first contribution, worth more than $ 2.4 million, will fund the "Sustainable Solutions for Displaced Persons in the Lahaie Resort" project developed jointly with the Government of Haiti to build 100 houses on land made available by the Haitian Government. All houses will have access to water and energy and will be equipped with adequate sanitary facilities for 100 families in the locality of Lahaie (Commune of Dame-Marie, Grand'Anse) severely affected by the passage of the hurricane Matthew in October 2016.

The project will build on good construction practices. The lessons learned from this pilot project will be capitalized to serve as a reference for other similar projects and the scaling up of this initiative.

The second funding, worth more than $ 4.5 million, will fund a "Capacity Building Project for Women's Economic Empowerment in Haiti". This Project will provide women with reliable data on economic opportunities, will provide technical and financial support to women entrepreneurs and informal workers in targeted communities and contribute to the improvement of the socio-economic environment for effective gender equality. Haitian women, still suffering from unequal access to formal employment and credit, are more affected by unemployment than men, and thus often remain marginalized from productive activities.

Through this Project more than 1,500 micro-enterprises run by women will be strengthened in the most vulnerable areas of Port-au-Prince and its surroundings. More than 70% of the project budget ($ 3.2 million) will be used for business equipment strengthening, credit granting and technical support.

Director Youngsun Jung on the sidelines of the signing of these agreements, welcomed these new commitments to the benefit of Haitian populations and women "With these funds, Korea renews its friendship with Haiti through the recognized and confirmed expertise of UNDP in these areas."

Ms. Yvonne Helle praised Korea's confidence in UNDP and assured that the funds would be used in a transparent manner and in accordance with international procedures for good governance in development assistance.

HL/ HaitiLibre