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People walk on the damaged streets of Port-au-Prince following the massive earthquake - Source: Reuters -
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The United Nations has assigned former US President Bill Clinton, now UN special envoy to Haiti, to co-ordinate international relief efforts in the earthquake-devastated country.
Clinton will seek to organize a mass of aid initiatives and offers that have poured in since the magnitude 7.0 earthquake killed up to 200,000 Haitians and made up to 1 million homeless in January.
Three weeks after the quake, a huge US-led international relief operation has been struggling to help survivors.
The United Nations, whose mission chief in Haiti and nearly 100 other staff were killed, has admitted early aid efforts were disorganized but says the situation is improving daily.
After meeting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who asked him to assume the new task, Clinton said he was "pleased to take on an expanded role in the recovery efforts" and would learn from disasters like the 2004 Asian tsunami.
Ban "specifically asked President Clinton to assume a leadership role in co-ordinating international aid efforts from emergency response to the reconstruction of Haiti," according to UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.
"There's an awful lot of goodwill out there, an unprecedented flow of aid and good intentions and cash, and the idea is to ensure that that comes together in the right way."
Nesirky has described Clinton as an "internationally renowned, highly visible, high-profile individual," with an ability to mobilize leaders and businessmen.
The US says the former president will co-ordinate the work of UN agencies, government donors, private investors and non-governmental organizations.
Several diplomats say Clinton has strong backing from UN member states, and is the right person for the job because he can combine his UN authority with his experience and connections in the US government.
The United Nations, which has more than 12,600 troops and police in Haiti, has been overseeing the emergency relief effort in co-ordination with the US military, which has mobilized more than 10,000 personnel to help the country.
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