The European Union has provided aid benefiting half of all Haitian citizens - or 5 million people - in the three years since its devastating earthquake, the bloc's executive said Saturday.
"Today, as we take stock of our actions since the disaster, we are also reaffirming our long-term commitment to the Haitian people, whose recovery and sustainable development remain our priority," EU High Representative Catherine Ashton and Commissioners Kristalina Georgieva and Andris Piebalgs said in a joint statement.
Georgieva is responsible for the EU's humanitarian aid programme and Piebalgs is the bloc's development commissioner.
They said 85 per cent of the 522 million euros (694 million dollars) promised by the commission after the earthquake had already been committed, while further funding had since been made available.
"Of course, there is still a long way to go," the commissioners added. "Recent events like tropical storm Isaac and Hurricane Sandy make the recovery of Haiti even more difficult and highlight yet again the need to increase Haitians' resilience to natural disasters."
They said political instability had hampered development work, and welcomed a government decision to push forward with reforms that would help with the planning and coordination of aid.
"Helping (Haiti) recover and build itself back better is the best way to show solidarity with the long-suffering people of this country and to honour the victims of the disaster," the commissioners said.