Obama names Shah US` relief coordinator to Haiti

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Jan 14 (PTI) Less than a week into his job
Rajiv Shah, the Indian American administrator of USAID, has a
crucial task at hand as he was named by President Barack Obama
the coordinator for US' relief and rescue mission in quake
devastated Haiti.
Shah was last week sworn in as head of the US Agency for
International Development that oversees a whopping USD 40
billion foreign assistance programme, becoming the highest
ranking Indian American in any presidential administration.
Over 100,000 people are feared dead in a calamitous
earthquake that rocked Haiti on Tuesday, and thousands of
people are buried under the rubble of the collapsed buildings.
"To ensure that we coordinate our effort, going forward,
I have designated the Administrator of the US Agency for
International Development Rajiv Shah, to be our government's
unified disaster coordinator," Obama said at the White House.
Obama ordered an aggressive and coordinated strategy to
address the difficulties in providing assistance to the
Haitian people and then following through in the weeks and
months ahead to help with their reconstruction.
"I have directed my administration to respond with swift,
coordinated and aggressive effort to save lives," he said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was rushing to
Washington immediately from Hawaii after cancelling her visit
to three nations, said she was returning to give full support
to Shah. (MORE) PTI