People look at the damage caused by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake on Aug. 14 in Marceline near Les Cayes, Haiti, on Aug. 22, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

The international community pledged $600 million Wednesday to help rebuild Haiti's devastated south, where an earthquake killed more than 2,200 people six months ago.

"These contributions went well above our expectations," said Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, after the conclusion of an international summit in Port-au-Prince.

With a total estimated cost of $2 billion over four years to build back the areas hardest hit by the August 14 earthquake, the $600 million figure corresponds to only 30 percent of the necessary funding, but is still higher than the 25 percent that had been expected.

Almost a billion dollars is needed just to rebuild the 130,000 homes that were leveled. Three out of four schools in the region were also destroyed or severely damaged, contributing to an estimated $400 million cost for the education sector alone.

"These contributions, large and small, demonstrate that the international community is committed to a new approach to working with the Government and the people of this country," said Deputy UN Secretary General Amina Mohammed, who visited Port-au-Prince for the summit. 

In 2010, after a devastating earthquake killed more than 200,000 people and destroyed the homes of a million and half Haitians, the international aid effort was poorly coordinated and inefficient.

Twelve years later, the city center of Port-au-Prince - including multiple government agency headquarters and the presidential palace - has still not been rebuilt.

AFP