UN and Haitian Leadership Meetings Begin

UN Special Envoy Starts Round Of Meetings With Haitian Leadership

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Envoy to Haiti today began consulting with the country's leaders on the political and security problems to be addressed in the wake of the departure of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Reginald Dumas, who met with Interim President Boniface Alexandre and new Haitian Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, is expected to remain in http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=91&Body=Haiti&Body1= Haiti until the middle of next week, the Secretary-General's spokesman told journalists at UN Headquarters.

Meanwhile, the UN integrated assessment mission continued to look at security and other factors, spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

The overall situation in Haiti is calm but still volatile, http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/480fa8736b88bbc3c12564f6004c8ad5/85ed8ca9d6e3220585256e59005eb01a?OpenDocument according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Security remains a key concern, with shooting, looting and street demonstrations occurring sporadically, particularly in Port-au-Prince.

UN agencies and their partners are scaling up operations to meet the emergency health needs of Haitians affected by the recent crisis.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) have replenished the reserves of the looted hospitals in Gonaïves, while http://www.who.int/disasters/country.cfm?countryID=74&DocType=2 WHO and the Pan American Health Organization (http://www.paho.org/English/DD/PED/haitisituation2004.htm PAHO) are continuing to distribute 10,000 health kits to hospitals in Port-au-Prince, where those agencies are also delivering fuel to public health institutions.

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