After a three-day visit to Haiti, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, World Bank Managing Director, signed Wednesday with Marie-Carmelle Jean-Marie, Minister of Economy and Finance, 5 new grant agreements totaling more than $139 million to offer new opportunities and better living conditions for children, rural producers and local communities.

The five agreements relate to :

Les cinq accords signés concernent :

Education : (nearly 15 million)

This additional funding from theHaiti Reconstruction Fund for the second phase of the Education for All project as well as the restructuring of this project will help: to subsidize tuition of approximately 160,000 disadvantaged children enrolled in private schools; distribute breakfast, hot meals, vitamin A supplements to more than 76,000 students each day; provide services deworming; train 3,700 new teachers and build 160 additional classrooms in community schools.

Community Development : (over $7 million)

This additional funding for the Project of Participatory Community Development in Urban areas (PRODEPUR) will allow to extend the reach and improve the living conditions in disadvantaged areas of the departments of North, Central and Artibonite: increase access of disadvantaged municipalities to services of water supply and sanitation, particularly in the towns of Hinche and Mirebalais in the Central Department, and those of Dondon and Milot in the Northern Department; increase access to

nurseries, primary and secondary schools and health centers. Note that 270,000 vulnerable people are already benefiting from this project.

Development of the Centre Artibonite loop : ($58 million)

This third funding will allow: to mobilize public and private investment and improve resilience to climate shocks in the Central Artibonite loop; improve connectivity and logistics to facilitate investment, production and trade of nearly 190,000 producers; the rehabilitation of 180 km of rural and urban roads and train 300 local government officials in contract management, natural hazards, road sector and territorial planning.

Development of tourism in the North : ($ 45 million)

This finacement is intended for the preservation and implementation of National Historic Park and the historic center of Cap Haitien as a new tourist destination more precisely: the preservation of the Citadelle Henry, the Palace of Sans Souci, the chapel of Sans Souci and the site of Ramiers by enhancing their ability to withstand to the hazards telluric and receive more tourists to the National Historical Park and support the creation of 370

small and medium-sized cultural and tourist businesses services.

Budgetary support : ($14 million)

This fifth funding will be used as budgetary support.

HL/ S/ HaitiLibre