VOA标准英语2010-International Community Pledges Billions

（单词翻译）

Margaret Besheer | United Nations 31 March 2010

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon listen as Haitian President Preval delivers an address to the opening session of an international donors²' conference, 31 Mar¹ 2010

More than 50 countries and institutions pledged $5.3 billion Wednesday to help Haiti jumpstart its reconstruction³ from January's earthquake over the next 1 1/2 years. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who co-hosted the donors' conference along with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Haitian President René Préval, said their actions far exceeded expectations.

The conference set out to raise about $4 billion for Haiti's immediate⁴ reconstruction needs, but as the U.N. Secretary-General pointed⁵ out, they did even better. "We can report very good news.  Member states of the United Nations, and international partners, have pledged $5.3 billion for the next two years and $9.9 billion, in total, for the next three years and beyond," he said.

A large part of that came from the United States, which pledged $1.15 billion and the European Union, which promised $1.6 billion.

Mr. Ban said the pledges are the down payment Haiti needs for wholesale⁶ national renewal⁷. But he urged donors' to implement⁸ their promises. "We must make sure Haiti gets the money it needs when it needs it.  And we must guarantee that it is well-coordinated and well-spent," he said.

The money will go to rebuild Haiti's devastated⁹ infrastructure¹⁰, to create new jobs, and to put the country on the path to sustainable development. To finish that massive task, it is expected to take 10 years and more than $11.5 billion.

Conference co-chair, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said donors signaled a new level of global commitment, coordination¹¹ and cooperation, as did Haiti's government. "We heard from [Haitian] Prime Minister [Jean-Max] Bellerive a road map for building a new Haiti; A Haiti with a vibrant¹² private sector¹³, accountable and effective government institutions, and international partners that would be working with Haiti -- not separate and apart from Haiti," she said.

Haitian President René Préval expressed his thanks and said the Haitian people and government would do their part to make Haiti's reconstruction a success.