Ban calls for for 'wholesale" rebuilding of Haiti

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today urged world nations to foster a "wholesale national renewal" of Haiti as the nation emerges from a devastating earthquake.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged world nations to foster a "wholesale national renewal" of Haiti as the nation emerges from a devastating earthquake.

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"As we move from emergency aid to longer-term reconstruction, let us recognize that we cannot accept business as usual," Ban wrote in The Washington Post.

"What we envision today is nothing less than a wholesale national renewal."

On Wednesday, world leaders gather at UN headquarters in New York for a donors conference that will examine Haiti's needs.

Participants will consider a plan, under which an Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission would channel nearly four billion dollars into specific reconstruction projects and programs during the next 18 months, Ban said.

Over the next 10 years, Haiti's reconstruction needs will total an estimated 11.5 billion dollars, according to the UN secretary general.

"Clearly, this assistance must be well-spent and well-coordinated," Ban pointed out.

"It must provide for continuing emergency relief: food, sanitation and, most urgently at this moment, shelter."