January 12 is a date of infamy in Haitian history, being the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake that killed thousands of Haitians and destroyed homes and buildings in the capital city Port-au-Prince, and in neighboring towns. Since the earthquake, despite the outpouring of international donations, the recovery and rebuilding process has been agonizingly slow as thousands of Haitians remain homeless, living in adverse conditions in tent camps.

On the second anniversary, according to United Nations officials, resources are being refocused on reconstruction, including infrastructure restoration, debris removal, job creation and capacity building. The officials noted, however, that considerable humanitarian needs remain.

Rebeca Grynspan, the Associate Administrator of the UN Development Program (UNDP), told reporters in a teleconference organized by UN Foundation that "it has been a major challenge since we know that Haiti still needs a combination of humanitarian support... but slowly the emphasis and allocation of resources is shifting towards recovery and reconstruction."

Grynspan said the UNDP has helped to create 300,000 temporary jobs since the earthquake, organizing people to carry out activities such as debris removal, garbage collection and enhancing disaster risk reduction. Forty percent of the temporary jobs have gone to women. She said efforts are now shifting towards the creation of more sustainable jobs, moving from cash-for-work schemes to cash for production employment. This effort includes supporting more small businesses, community-based organizations, self-employment and labor force training to empower more people in the job market. An estimated 60 percent of Haiti's labor force is unemployed.

She indicated that 50 percent of the debris from the earthquake has been removed, but massive amounts still remain, particularly from the demolition of damaged, irreparable buildings. She said the debris from the earthquake was the equivalent of five football stadiums full of debris.

The UN fund has also supported training programs for 2,700 people in Haiti's civil service and placed national and international experts at the disposal of Haitian government departments to assist in recovery, rebuilding of public utilities and infrastructure.

Another UN official, Dr. Jon Andrus, Deputy Director of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) regional body, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) referring to the cholera epidemic that broke out 10 months after the earthquake, said the outbreak can only be eliminated through improving health, water and sanitation infrastructure.

As of mid-December last year, some 7,200 deaths have been attributed to cholera, and approximately 520,000 cases of cholera have been reported.