HUMANITARIAN aid supplies from Slovakia have finally been released by customs in Haiti almost a year after delivery. The Foreign Ministry confirmed that the supplies, sent following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, are now ready for distribution to Haitians in need, the SITA newswire reported.
Hundreds of humanitarian aid containers are reportedly stuck at customs offices in Haiti due to massive bureaucratic delays.
According to Vladimír Krčméry, the rector of the St Elisabeth University of Health and Social Sciences, who has worked in Haiti, NGOs on the ground there are often blamed for being slow because “only those with money for bribes get anything done quickly”.
The humanitarian aid from Slovakia will be distributed by the NGO Magna – Children in Need, SITA reported. The container, which was delivered to Haiti on March 25, 2010, contained 9 tonnes of material worth over €177,000, including tents for 100 people and clothing for 1,000.
