Day two of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos has seen lively debate on the future of earthquake-struck Haiti and on global growth. Among the topics of discussion during today’s sessions was the relationship between private business and humanitarian aid.

Catherine Bragg is with the United Nations Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs. She says private groups shouldn’t be seen as the “bad guy”. She told the meeting that there are things that the private sector does much better than anyone else, such as telecommunications.

The former head of the UN Refugee Agency in Geneva, Sadako Ogata, says that people who are suffering don’t care whether the aid comes. Whether it’s from humanitarian sources or from development cooperation – so long as their needs are met at the right time, in the right way.

But some aid groups warn that trying to make new partnerships now in Haiti may be too soon, as people there are still desperate for basic needs. Barbara Stocking is with the aid group Oxfam. If you don’t already have a partnership, the aftermath of a disaster isn’t the best time to form one. And it might not be the best time to begin operating in a country for the first time, either.

Meanwhile, in keeping with U.S President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union Address, delegates at the meeting also focused on lifting the world out of the economic crisis – via, among other things, new jobs.

Peter Brabeck is chairman of Swiss-based Nestle, the world’s biggest food company. He said today that in today’s world, only to create shareholder value isn’t enough. Companies have to create shared value, with the community, with our employees, and with the shareholders.

Currently, the world has the highest rate of unemployment ever recorded, according to the International Labor Office. The Geneva-based organisation’s head, Juan Somavia, says major measures must be taken. He told delegates that the world must create the same policy decisiveness which was put together to save banks, to now save and create jobs.