Haiti's prime minister Jean-Max Belerive is in Montreal, Canada for an international meeting on January 25 2010 to plan Haiti's recovery, while aid workers continue to struggle to deliver badly needed food, water and medical supplies after the massive earthquake on January 12.  
 
Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper is hosting the Montreal meeting, the Voice of America said. 
 
Spanish first deputy prime minister María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, is attending the Montreal conference on behalf of Spain and the European Union (EU).
 
The 27 EU member states have already approved 430 million euro of aid for humanitarian supplies and medium-term reconstruction.
 
Fernández de la Vega visited Haiti on January 17 to inspect the damage caused by the earthquake and assess the extent of the aid needed. The following day, she was in the Dominican Republic where she took part in the preparatory meeting for the Montreal forum.
 
The Montreal meeting will focus on co-ordinating the influx of humanitarian aid being sent to Haiti to answer the most pressing needs of the hundreds of thousands of victims, and also prepare a summit meeting to discuss the reconstruction of the Caribbean country.
 
Bellerive, the heads of foreign affairs of the USA (Hillary Clinton), Brazil (Celso Amorim), France (Bernard Kouchner) and the Dominican Republic (Carlos Morales Troncoso) are expected to attend the meeting, together with Dominican Republic economy minister Temístocles Montás.
 
Also present will be representatives from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, The Caribbean Development Bank, CARICOM, the Inter-American Development Bank, the IMF, la OAS, the World Bank , the UNO and various non-governmental organisations.
 
In addition to aid, the Montreal conference will also discuss the issue of a possible exodus of refugees and immigrants to surrounding countries, above all the Dominican Republic .
 
In the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU, which is also set to take place on January 25 in Brussels, Spain will propose that existing applications to adopt Haitian children be speeded up and that international measures should be sought to provide care and protection for unaccompanied minors or orphans.
 
De la Vega stressed that "Our commitment to Haiti is clear and steadfast. We fully intend, together will the international community, to stand by the Haitians in the reconstruction of their country".
 
The Haitian government said on January 24 2010 that the official death toll from the earthquake that shattered the capital had risen to 150 000. Officials said that number does not include outlying areas.
 
International aid organisations said that day that temporary tent campsites in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and Leogane, a city south-east of the capital will be established to resettle Haiti's homeless.
 
The International Organisation for Migration said on January 24 that Haiti would need 100 000 tents for about 500 000 people, the Voice of America said. 
 
Haitian orphans whose paperwork was completed or near completion before the earthquake have begun arriving in their new homes in the US and Europe.  
 
Meanwhile, UNICEF has reported that some Haitian children are missing from hospitals, raising concerns of child trafficking.
 
Haitians continue to plead with international rescue teams to search for loved ones, even though Haiti's government officially called off search and rescue operations on January 22.
 
Officials say there have been no major outbreaks of disease so far, but cases of pink-eye, skin rashes and diarrhea have been noted. Officials say food, water, shelter and health care are the most pressing needs.
 
Canwest news service said on January 25 that a sombre Bellerive had thanked Canadians yesterday for their "marvellous" support beginning within minutes of the earthquake that shattered his country and brought him to Canada for the Montreal conference.