Donors must stick with Haiti: World Bank chief

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donors in Haiti need to work speedily to ensure desperation does not turn to violence in the aftermath of the earthquake and must be prepared to stay the course to rebuild the shattered country, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday.

In an interview with Reuters, Zoellick said the country had some of the worst human development indicators in the world before the earthquake devastated Haiti and this was the "opportunity to build back better."

"First and foremost that means when cameras leave, the donors don't leave with them," he said. "The key point from the reconstruction side is support has to be there for the long haul."

Zoellick said development experiences from Afghanistan, Liberia, and Aceh province in Indonesia hit by a 2004 tsunami showed that donors should work with governments to rebuild countries and coordinate their aid by pooling their resources in a trust fund.

"Haiti can't be reconstructed by outsiders, no matter how well meaning," Zoellick said, adding that it was important that rebuilding efforts be connected to the Haitian government's goals.

"As people look toward reconstruction we need better aid coordination, fewer feel-good projects and less flag planting, but also strong oversight and accountability so people feel their money is well spent," he said.

Zoellick said the first priority for donors was to save lives and to support relief groups in providing food, water and shelter to survivors of the earthquake. While many were thinking toward longer-term reconstruction it was important that doesn't interfere with the humanitarian process, he added.

He said the United States had "put a lot of might" into helping Haiti and praised U.N. agencies such as the World Food Programme for their "heroic work."

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton, editing by Vicki Allen)