Penn accepted the award at a 2012 Peace Summit event in Chicago, attended by Nobel Peace Prize dignitaries, dedicating the award to the Haitian people, saying: "There are no people on earth more willing to pull themselves up by their bootstraps..."

Describing it as an honour the actor has since intensified his efforts to draw attention to the major challenges facing Haiti, following the devastating earthquake of 2010.

The UN described the catastrophe at the time as the largest ever modern urban disaster, leading to 300,000 deaths, flattening much of this desperately poor nation and leaving 1.5 million homeless...

Penn created J/P HRO, his Haitian Relief Organisation in the aftermath of the tragedy, a non-profit that supports various relief and reconstruction projects, including health clinics and shelter.

Penn's appeal comes as other relief agencies continue to report huge challenges facing the country, with humanitarian workers and the Haitian authorities struggling to tackle the scale of the rebuilding programme...

Direct Relief International has identified maternal and child health services as a priority, with 60,000 expectant women in Haiti in need of help.

Hundreds of thousands of people are still in temporary shelters...

Direct Relief provides medical equipment and supplies to boost the capacity of hospitals throughout Haiti, and has supported over 115 health facilities in the country with essential medical aid, including operating tables, sterilisers, diagnostic instruments, baby monitors, ultrasounds, and medicine, plus HIV tests, making sure pregnant women are tested for HIV...

Other charities such as The Red Cross have also been warning of the need for more investment in housing, as well as water and sanitation support to help the many thousands still living in camps over two years after the earthquake...

The reconstruction efforts are expected to take years more to complete but still the message from charities and high profile supporters like Penn is that vital work needs to be done soon, to stabilise the country and provide accommodation and health services for those in need.