U.S. Treasury Under Secretary Brainard Visits GEF Project in Haiti
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Under Secretary for International Affairs Lael Brainard visited Haiti in late July where she met with senior government officials to assess first-
hand assistance provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other multilateral institutions to help the country recover from a devastating earthquake that struck earlier this year.
Among other visits, Under Secretary Brainard visited a tent camp
where residents were given solar-powered lanterns distributed by the World Bank, with funding in part by the GEF. The effort is part of a larger, $3 million partnership in which the GEF, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) each contributed $1 million to provide some of Haiti’s poorest, hardest hit communities with clean, solar-generated power and lighting as they recover.
Under the World Bank component of the GEF-funded effort, relief workers distributed 50,000 portable, solar-powered lanterns that are able to provide several hours of light each day and charge cell phones. This provides a vital need to provide portable, self-
sustained lighting solutions for families and individuals, including the sick and injured, during a period when regular power is not expected to be re-established in many parts of the country for the foreseeable future. The other portion of the GEF-effort, being implemented by the IDB, will finance the installation of photovoltaic solar generating systems for medical centers and vaccine refrigeration facilities.
The GEF will continue to collaborate with its partner agencies to assist the people of Haiti to recover from the earthquake in an environmentally sustainable manner.
