Following what President Barack Obama called a “very productive” meeting between himself and Haitian President René Préval at the White House on Wednesday; President Obama sought to put into perspective the great loss that Haiti suffered in the devastating January 12 earthquake.

Obama said, “To offer just some perspective on the awful scale of Haitian loss, it’s as if the United States, in a terrible instant, lost nearly 8 million people; or it’s as if one-third of our country – 100 million Americans – suddenly had no home, no food, or water.  That gives you a sense of, relative to the populations, what has happened in Haiti.  No nation could respond to such a catastrophe alone.  It would require a global response.  And that’s exactly what we have seen these past two months.”

But despite the overwhelming support given to Haiti since the disaster, both presidents, who addressed reporters in the Rose Garden, agreed that the situation there remains dire, as there are no illusions that the crisis is over.  Many Haitians still desperately need shelter, food and medicine.  And with the spring rains approaching, those needs are expected to grow, especially with the threat of waterborne diseases in the wet months.  The challenge now is to prevent a second disaster.

Préval, who has been on a mission over recent weeks seeking additional aid, along with his delegation offered an update on the status of relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts and the challenges ahead in a disaster that, Obama said, “even now, defies comprehension.”

President Préval said that in the meeting with President Obama, he discussed Haiti’s immediate priorities which include protecting “people who are homeless and must be relocated,” and preparation for the rainy season which last week caused the deaths of 15 people. He said, simultaneously there is the need to rebuild Haiti, focusing on decentralization, particularly offering healthcare, education and jobs to all Haitians, regardless of where they live in the country, “in order to prevent migratory flows towards the big cities and towards Port-au-Prince.” Préval said he hoped that the participants at the United Nations meeting scheduled for March 31 to discuss Haiti’s reconstruction, will share “this philosophy, this vision, of decentralization.”

The Haitian president said he and his American counterpart also discussed the formation of a donors’ trust fund; the implementation of which would be executed by one agency.  He told President Obama that he knows that Haitians can count on him to be the advocate of that idea during the UN conference “in support of our vision.”

Obama commended Préval and the Haitian people for their “courage and determination” after the disaster and thanked his administration, Congress, humanitarian organizations and medical and military personnel for their role in the relief efforts. He also thanked “individual Americans, who gave what they could to support Haiti even in difficult economic times.”

President Obama pledged that America’s commitment to Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction will endure.  He told Préval, “America will be your partner in the recovery and reconstruction effort.”

President Préval thanked President Obama, Congress, U.S. organizations, the American people, and the international community for their “swift’ response in assisting Haiti. He said the material aid, moral support and psychological support, helped Haitians realize that “we were not alone and that provided us great comfort in our distress.” He also expressed sympathy and condolences, to Americans who had family members killed and injured during the earthquake.

Immediately after the earthquake, President Obama committed $100 million to the relief efforts and authorized the intervention of U.S. troops and other personnel to assist. Since then, over 200,000 people have been reported killed, including Americans, Canadians, and people from several other countries; and some million Haitians have been left homeless. The U.S. has reportedly spent over $500 million on relief efforts since the quake.