Deputy Secretary-General's opening remarks at a press conference following her return from a trip to Haiti

And this is why, partly, the Secretary-General sent me there, to continue looking at the progress.

My visit was eye-opening. I saw for myself the conditions on the ground.

I am relieved to see that incremental progress is being made to help the Haitian Government and people to lift themselves from the consequences of the tragedy.

I met a people yearning to rebuild their lives, a proud nation that is on its way to renewal and betterment. And I will just share with you some of the things that I saw.

Already, while I was there, I saw children finding their way back to school - this was very encouraging.

Millions of people are being provided with shelter; millions are receiving food; and millions have been provided with potable water.

As you may be aware, we have the cash-for-work and food-for-work programmes. These are expanding their reach and a good number of people are benefiting from the programmes.

Meanwhile, the government is restoring its institutions and authority.

Women are organizing themselves, launching small businesses, even inside the camps and the very challenging situation there. But they definitely need greater and stronger support, greater and stronger protection, particularly from sexual violence and other forms of abuse.

I also had occasion to visit a centre, where people with disabilities are being helped, and that is something which is welcomed and prepares the ground for those affected to start their lives again.

The children in the camps must be protected from harm, and this could be sexual, it could be physical or even psychological.

So you will see that much remains to be done.

The rain and hurricane season is here now, with millions still lacking proper shelter. So there are challenges out there.

I am encouraged by the relocation effort being conducted by the United Nations agencies, which targets more than 8,000 most vulnerable people.

But as we do this, definitely more permanent solutions are needed.

We need to have solutions that will provide better education to the children, adequate sanitation, shelter and medical facilities.

And many people that I met, in particular the parents, were anxious to see children going back to school. And so they tried, within their meager resources, to provide for uniforms and other requirements for them to go back to school.

We will also have to increase security in the camps, and as I have said before, prevent gender-based violence.

Another important area, which I saw that needs support, is the area of governance. I met with President Préval –he spoke to this and, surely, we must together devise solutions that will help the Haitian Government recover, especially from the massive losses it has suffered in skilled civil servants and also build up more strong governance structures.

I had the opportunity to meet with the President of the Lower Chamber of Parliament and he also was talking of the long-term need to strengthen governance.

In the end, despite the huge challenges, I left Port-au-Prince with the confidence that Haiti will recover.

The people there are determined to rebuild their country with their own hands. The Government continues to show leadership and a sense of purpose.

Definitely support from the international community and the United Nations will go a long way to assist them in rebuilding.

What is clear is that there is a need to keep remembering Haiti. There is a need to continue maintaining our attention on Haiti and to keep it in focus. And, as I said before, this is why the Secretary-General sent me there. He has courageous and dedicated UN staff, who have committed to stand side-by-side with the Haitians. And we appeal to the international community to continue to be there with us.

So this is what I thought I could share with your colleagues in relation to my trip to Haiti.