Haiti Funds Promised But Haven't Been Delivered

$5.3 billion in funding was promised by donors at an aid conference in March, almost two months after the earthquake, but less than 2 percent of that money has been handed over to the United Nations-backed entity set up to handle the money, according to CNN world. There have only been four countries that have provided funding: Australia, Brazil, Estonia, and Norway. The United States promised $1.15 billion, but has paid nothing, due to money being tied up in the congressional appropriations process. Venezuela promised more - $1.32 billiion - but hasn't provided funding either, although they have written off some of Haiti's debt. Former President Bill Clinton, who also serves as a special envoy for Haiti, was quoted saying "I'm going to call all those governments, the ones who said they'll give money to support the Haitian government, and say I want to try to get them to give the money, and I'm trying to get the others to give me a schedule for when they'll release it," Clinton told CNN's Anderson Cooper earlier this week. Only $506 million has been provided to Haiti since the conference in March, and the donations were for the fiscal year 2010-2011, so countries that promised aid still have until the middle of next year to live up to their expectations. Private money has come in from the Clinton Foundation, Mexican telecommunications billionaire Carlos Slim Helu, and Canadian mining investor Frank Giustra, but that's not part of the $5.3 billion pledged by countries at the conference in March. The earthquake took place on January 12 and left more than 220,000 dead, 300,000-plus injured and more than 1 million homeless. According to recent U.N. reports, the quake destroyed 60 percent of government infrastructure and left more than 180,000 homes uninhabitable. Clinton said the worldwide economic crisis was at least partly to blame, and he believes "that they're all having economic trouble, and they want to hold their money as long as possible," Clinton said.