Celebrities from Hollywood and Italy helped cut the ribbon Wednesday on a new hospital for handicapped children in Haiti that has the highest infant mortality in the Western hemisphere.

US actress Madeleine Stowe, Italy's Martina Colombari, Canadian director Paul Haggis and former US senator and White House hopeful John Edwards joined other stars for the ceremonial opening of the modern hospital built by Italian non-governmental group NPH (Our Little Brothers).

"I am particularly excited about being here for the opening of this rehabilitation facility which is much-needed," Edwards told AFP.

"I am also here to help, we hope, bring attention to the plight of the Haitian people, their struggles and their efforts to have a better life."

Chaos-plagued Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas, and the United Nations says diarrhea, respiratory infections, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/Aids are the leading causes of death.

"It's shocking for a lot of Americans to see a country so close to the United States being one of the poorest countries in the world," American actress Maria Bello said.

"We intend to come back to Haiti again and to make the voice of this country heard in the USA," she said at the opening, which was preceded by a mass sung by Italian and Haitian priests.

The new facility, which received funding from the Francesca Rava Foundation, which operates NPH, can assist 5,000 children per year, said NPH's Gina Heratz.

"In Haiti, handicapped children are often abandoned and are regarded as a burden and a waste of time," she said.

Some 70 percent of Haitians live on less than two dollars per day.

Source: AFP