Related article: Haiti must learn to live with earthquakes

Only one person in two among the Haitian population of more than nine million people has access to clean drinking water, and only 19 percent have decent sanitation.

On Friday, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa became just the second foreign leader to visit Haiti since the quake, lending his voice to international calls for more emergency relief and assistance with reconstruction.

"This is a tragedy, a humanitarian tragedy. Haiti at this moment represents the pain of victims but also hope," Correa said.

Haitians living in sprawling makeshift camps in the ruins of Port-au-Prince and elsewhere complain that the flood of international aid arriving in the country is trickling down too slowly.

Many are trying to rebuild their lives, with marketplaces springing up on streets around the capital, although business is tough.

"It's very hard -- there aren't many buyers, but there are lots of sellers," said 24-year-old Rose Gardy-Joseph, sitting next to a basket full of colourful sweets, soft cheese and napkins.

But survivors also face rising insecurity, with thousands of criminals on the loose after the main jail collapsed in the quake and reports of rape and violence plaguing the weak and vulnerable.

The deputy head of the UN mission in Haiti, Anthony Banbury, said the United Nations did not want huge tent cities later turning into slums where there was poor sanitation, no security and child abuse.

The United Nations, along with aid agencies and security forces, must "do things smart, as well as fast, and that's a big challenge for us now," Banbury said.

The US State Department said it was spearheading a coordinated effort together with UNICEF, the Haitian government, the Red Cross and other agencies to combat the potential trafficking of children.

Related article: Aid group in Haiti frustrated by US

The aid effort has also been dogged by complaints over a lack of coordination between UN officials, the 20,000 US forces in Haiti, and a swarm of aid groups helping the country.

There were no signs of further survivors beneath the rubble after a 16-year-old girl was pulled alive from the ruins Wednesday after surviving 15 days without any food or water.

Rebuilding the western hemisphere's poorest nation could take decades, said Edmond Mulet, the acting head of the UN mission in Haiti, whose predecessor was killed in the quake.

"I think this is going to take many more decades than only 10 years and this is an enormous backwards step in Haiti's development. We will not have to start from zero but from below zero," Mulet told the BBC.

But anti-government feeling runs high on the streets, with residents distrustful of Haitian President Rene Preval's intentions with the relief flooding in from around the world.

"The government is going to take all the aid and give it to their friends, not to the people," said money changer Sorel Charles. "The rich people are getting richer, but we aren't getting anything."

Source-AFP
TRI