Donors pledge 5.3 billion dollars for Haiti

Donor countries attending a major fundraiser for Haiti Wednesday pledged 5.3 billions dollars for the next two years to put the quake-ravaged nation back on its feet, UN chief Ban Ki-moon announced.

The tally far exceeds the target of 3.8 billion dollars over the next 18 months that had been set by organizers of the conference.

"The (UN) member states and international partners have pledged 5.3 billion dollars for the next two years and 9.9 billion dollars in total for the next three years and beyond," Ban said at a press conference wrapping up the meeting.

"Friends of Haiti have acted far beyond expectations."

The aim of the conference was to help the battered country "build back better" after the 7.0-magnitude quake on January 12 leveled parts of its capital Port-au-Prince, killing at least 220,000 people and leaving 1.3 million homeless.

The biggest contributions came from the United States and the 27-member European Union.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, co-hosting the conference with Ban, offered 1.15 billion dollars, saying the funds would go toward supporting Haiti's plan "to strengthen agriculture, energy, health, and security and governance."

The EU meanwhile pledged an additional 1.6 billion dollars, with France offering to disburse 180 million euros (243 million dollars) in 2010-2011 for food and the restoration of government authority.

Some 138 countries, international bodies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, non-governmental organizations and representatives of Haitian expatriates took part in the one-day conference.

The 3.8 billion dollars sought by organizers was meant to represent a first installment on the estimated 11.5 billion in aid needed for reconstruction over 10 years.