Mr. Thierry Mayard-Paul, the Minister of the Interior has proceeded earlier this week to the inauguration of the construction project, of a new emergency operations center, of a warehouse of humanitarian relief and a fire station in Fort-Liberté. It is the first of 10 operations centers and warehouses of humanitarian relief, of 8 community groups and 14 fire stations to be built across Haiti. This initiative is part of the decentralization strategy of the Ministry of Interior, which aims to build a security network, of infrastructure and institutional capacity across Haiti.

Presiding over the ceremony, the Minister of Interior stated that this relief warehouses "are not only critical in saving lives and minimizing damage during major natural events; they also enhance institutional capacity throughout Haiti so we can increase safety in all parts of the country."

Daniel Foote, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy, representing the U.S. Southern Command, noted that Haiti's civil preparedness projects have entered construction phase and are one step closer to helping the Government of Haiti provide vital services to communities in the Nord-Est Department. "This Emergency Operations Center will allow local emergency response personnel to collect and analyze reported information, make decisions, and manage Haiti's collective response to emergencies or major natural events."

The Minister of Interior stressed that "We could not do this without the unwavering support of our friends in the United States who, through Southern Command, the embassy and USAID, along with the United Nations Development Program, World Food and others in the international community, help us turn necessities into plans, and plans into reality."

HL/ HaitiLibre