International donors have pledged to provide Haiti with USD 324 million over the next two years, well below the USD 900 million that the country's prime minister says the government needs over that period.The pledges were announced on Tuesday after representatives from more than 30 donor countries and international organisations gathered to raise money to help the Western Hemisphere's poorest country recover from last year's devastating hurricanes and food riots.
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group, a conflict watchdog, last month urged donors to provide the struggling Caribbean country USD 3 billion over the next few years.
The USD 324 million in pledges include about USD 41 million in budget support for 2009, according to Pablo Bachelet, a spokesman for the Inter-American Development Bank, which hosted the conference. Bachelet provided no breakdown of donors' pledges.
Before the pledges were announced, Haitian Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis said Haiti's government needs about USD 900 million over the next two years to pay for deficit, education, infrastructure, health and other items.
