The United Nations has asked former U.S. President Bill Clinton to assume "a leadership role" in coordinating international aid efforts in Haiti. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon made the announcement in a meeting Wednesday with Clinton in New York. Former President Clinton, who is already the U.N. Special Envoy for Haiti, said the "challenges are great" in Haiti, following the January 12 earthquake that left much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, in rubble. International efforts to help the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere after the quake, which killed up to 200,000 people, injured many others and left 2 million in need of aid, have faced a series of daunting challenges compounded by the enormity of the catastrophe and the lack of infrastructure in providing sufficient food, shelter and other requirements.
