International donors are pledging billions of dollars in assistance to help Haiti recover from this year's devastating earthquake.
A donor's conference at U.N. headquarters in New York Wednesday is more than halfway toward its target - commitments of $3.8 billion in aid for the Caribbean nation.
On behalf of the United States, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged more than $1 billion. The European Union promised a $1.6-billion grant for Haiti.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he envisions "wholesale national renewal" for Haiti, a project more sweeping than simply repairing structural damage left by January's 7.0-magnitude quake.
Mr. Ban says the rebuilding process in Haiti should be an exercise in nation-building on a scope and scale not seen in generations.
Haiti has established a 23-member Interim Haiti Recovery Commission to oversee the assistance. Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and former U.S. President Bill Clinton are to lead the new group. They will coordinate incoming donations, determine how they will be spent and work to ensure that no funds are wasted.
Mr. Ban hosted Wednesday's one-day conference along with Haitian President Ren� Preval and Secretary of State Clinton.
In her opening remarks, Clinton stressed the importance of working with the Haitian government and coordinating aid to the country. In the past, she said, the global community worked around Haiti's government instead of working with it as a partner.
The $3.8 billion Haiti hopes to raise is expected to cover reconstruction costs for the next 18 months, and would make up the first part of a 10-year, $11.5 billion reconstruction plan. The focus will be on rebuilding schools, hospitals and other key infrastructure projects outside the capital, Port-au-Prince, in an effort to decentralize the nation's economy.
Representatives from more than 100 countries attended the donors conference.
The January 12 earthquake leveled much of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. It left more than 217,000 people dead and 1 million others homeless. The U.N. says more than 500,000 people have left the capital to seek shelter elsewhere in the nation.
Haiti is the Western Hemisphere's poorest country.
