Bill Clinton to coordinate Haiti relief efforts

The United Nations has assigned former US President Bill Clinton, now UN special envoy to Haiti, to coordinate international relief efforts. Latest figures suggest 300-thousand people were injured in the quake.

At a news conference on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he had asked Clinton to assume a leadership role in coordinating international aid efforts from emergency response to the reconstruction of Haiti.

Ban said the former US president has hit the ground running and will be in Haiti on Friday. Clinton will also launch a new emergency appeal on February 17th to fund humanitarian efforts for the rest of the year.

Former president and U.N. special envoy for Haiti Bill Clinton, second from left, shakes hands with soldiers of the Joint Task Force-Haiti in Port-au-Prince, Monday, Jan. 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)