UNITED NATIONS: International donors have pledged nearly $10 billion to help Haiti recover from January’s devastating earthquake.

The $9.9-billion pledge from some 50 donors yesterday includes $5.3 billion for the 2010-2011 period, far in excess of the 3.8 billion that was sought by conference organisers for that period.

That target was meant to fund a $ 4.0 billion action plan put forward by the Haitian government for reconstruction projects over the next two years.

“The member states and international partners have pledged $5.3 billion for the next two years and $9.9 billion in total for the next three years and beyond,” UN chief Ban Ki-moon told a press conference wrapping up the meeting. “Friends of Haiti have acted far beyond expectations.” The aim of the meeting was to help the battered Caribbean 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.

Yesterday’s biggest contributions came from the US and the 27-member European Union. Several dignitaries emphasised the need to follow through on the pledges, which Ban said “will be published and tracked by a Web-based system” established by the UN and Haiti. “Reconstruction will be Haitian-led, inclusive, accountable, transparent, coordinated and results oriented,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.