New Haitian President Faces Major Rebuilding Challenges

Michel Martelly is the newly elected president of Haiti. He faces the large challenge of rebuilding much of the country's population center, which was devastated by an earthquake in January 2010.

1 minute read

May 4, 2011, 11:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


Housing is the major concern for Haiti, as many people in Port-au-Prince remain displaced.

"Martelly, a former entertainer, said that 1.7 million Haitians "still live under tents" and that, unless more people are vaccinated against cholera, the epidemic could widen with the hurricane season that is due to start on June 1.

Martelly said his priorities as president will be education, relocating people into permanent housing and reviving agriculture.

About 220,000 died in the Jan. 11, 2010, magnitude-7 quake, whose epicenter was 25 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital."

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