UN urges ´cash, not goods´ for Haiti

United Nations urged donor to give cash, instead of giving goods, towards the emergency relief effort of quake-hit Haiti.

United Nations agencies on Wednesday urged donors to give ''cash, not goods'' towards the emergency relief effort of quake-hit Haiti.

Catherine Bragg, who is the deputy head of the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that tents and food were needed, but ''otherwise cash not goods'' were required for UN agencies to deliver aid to the country.

Haitians are ''desperately in need of meals ready to eat'' and tents to shelter them from the upcoming rainy season, Bragg told the world's political and business elites gathered at the World Economic Forum at the Swiss mountain resort of Davos.

The reconstruction of quake-ravaged Haiti is a key focus at the Davos meeting, with business leaders asked to take on a long-term commitment to the country.

Bill Clinton, former US President and UN Special Envoy to Haiti, is due to launch a special initiative at Davos on Thursday for the reconstruction and long-term development of Haiti.

Up to a million people were left homeless and destitute by the 7.0-magnitude January 12 quake, which destroyed much of the capital city of the impoverished Caribbean nation and left more than 150,000 dead.