United Nations.— Eight months after the terrible earthquake which ravaged Haiti, that Caribbean country has only received 19 percent of the promised international assistance for 2010, said a UN senior official.

The total amount of financial aid provided to the devastated Caribbean island slightly exceeds 506 million dollars, an insufficient sum to face reconstruction works, said UN Stabilization Mission Head in Haiti (MINUSTAH) Edmond Mulet.

During his keynote address at a Security Council’s session on the Haitian situation, Mulet appealed to the international community to finally pay out the funds offered following the January 12 tragedy.

The upsetting earthquake caused about 300,000 deaths; some 311,928 injured; 1,300 people lost their homes and over 766,000 were displaced. The damages are estimated at 7,754 million dollars.

During a summit summoned by the UN in March this year, the participants agreed on providing assistance worth 5,300 million dollars within the next two years for Haiti’s reconstruction, a figure which will reach 9,900 million in a decade.

In his report, Mulet underscores the significance of the presidential and legislative elections scheduled for November this year in Haiti, as an important step towards the reestablishment of the State in that country.

“The legitimacy and credibility of this process is crucial. It must allow for the establishment of a transparent, genuine government,” he noted.

In a report to the Security Council, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the politic, social and economic situation in Haiti is still delicate and there is a real risk of facing more social pain and instability.

Ban Ki-moon noted that the Haitian government, with the international aid, “has been able to avoid a second devastating wave of epidemics and social unrest” and commended the population for having so far avoided the disturbances on a large scale despite their extremely precarious living conditions.

At present, there are 1,723 troops and 3,019 police officers at the service of MINUSTAH.