EU aid official bound for quake-hit Haiti
(BRUSSELS) - The European Union's top aid official will travel to quake-ravaged Haiti early next week to assess first-hand the needs of its people, the European Commission said in a statement.
Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Karel De Gucht will travel to the capital Port-au-Prince soon after emergency talks Monday between EU ministers responsible for development issues and foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
"His visit will be an opportunity to assess the immediate life-saving humanitarian aid needs as well as the medium and long-term requirements for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the country," the statement said.
De Gucht will also meet Haitian officials and UN aid representatives to discuss how relief work is being coordinated, and what the 27-nation EU can do to consolidate and strengthen the efforts.
Ashton will travel to New York on Wednesday for meetings with US and UN officials on the destruction from Tuesday's earthquake, which is thought to have killed more than 50,000 people.
According to an initial EU damage assessment, more than 4,000 physical structures were destroyed or damaged in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince by the 7.0-magnitude quake.
As well as several million euros in aid, EU nations have sent search and rescue teams, dogs and handlers, hospital units, tents, food and water purification supplies to Haiti.
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