Earthquake-hit Haiti 'needs long-term help'

A year after Haiti was devastated by an earthquake, aid workers report the need to step up long-term rebuilding efforts as they continue to combat disease and poverty.

Some 220,000 people died as a result of the quake that struck on January 12, 2010 with an estimated 1.5 million left homeless as buildings crumbled in the tremors.

Responders on the ground have faced numerous setbacks in the months since, with endemic poverty and an outbreak of cholera just two factors holding back recovery.

But a year on from the disaster aid workers hold out the hope that the battle against the disease is finally being won.

They said that efforts in 2011 must increasingly turn towards long-term reconstruction as well as short-term relief.

Haiti's recent history is scared by violence and poverty and administering aid in such conditions led to angry scenes at some collection points.

Save the Children has warned that a great deal of work still needs to be done by aid agencies in the country.

The charity notes that 380,000 children are still living in squalid camps and are in desperate need for better housing and schools.