On 12 January Haiti was a country on the path to stabilization. Decades of violence were giving way to calm. Elections were being prepared. Economic reforms were underway. Although desperately poor, [with 80 percent of the population living in poverty], Haiti was becoming a country with hope. That evening, in less than 60 seconds, hope was dealt a devastating blow. Words can not describe the suffering inflicted by the earthquake. Numbers lose their meaning as daily figures rise – more than 112,250 lives lost, 194,000 injured and 235,000 receiving
water out of an estimated 500,000 in need. Some of you have seen this destruction first hand. Some of us have experienced it personally. No one remains untouched.
We, the United Nations, are one in grief with the people of Haiti. We too mourn great loss. The scale of this disaster is still hard to comprehend. The earthquake destroyed the seat of government and the heart of Haiti’s economy. It razed the country’s cultural heritage and centres of learning. Hospitals, schools and clinics collapsed. Critical
ministries were destroyed. Almost every Government building that is still standing requires urgent structural assessment. Less than one third of the Haitian National Police are operating and its Headquarters lies in ruins. Roads are inaccessible and the major port is seriously damaged.Haiti’s earthquake affected one third of the country. It devastated a State.