IMF to loan Haiti US$102 mln

The International Monetary Fund has approved a no-strings, interest-free 102 million US dollar loan to Haiti to help the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, deal with the aftermath of the devastating earthquake.

The IMF, says this brings the total IMF aid being disbursed to Haiti this week to 114 million US dollars, constituting the largest amount made available so far to Haitian authorities.

In addition to the loan's being free of interest, the IMF says repayments of the principal do not have to start until mid-2015.

It says there are no policy conditions attached to the loan. The World Bank is also providing 100 million US dollars in immediate help through a grant to Haiti.

People rummage through a quake-smashed school in Cite Soleil in Haiti on January 12. (AFP/HO/UN/MINUSTAH/File/Logan Abassi)