UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and its partners Friday appealed for 562 million U.S. dollars to help the victims of the devastating earthquake that jolted Haiti earlier this week, as the world body scales up its assistance in the wake of the disaster.

Seven-year-old Stepanie lies injures in a makeshift hospital on a street in Port-au-Prince January 15, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The 7.0-magnitude tremor which struck the Western Hemisphere's poorest country on Tuesday is estimated to have affected one third of the nation's 9 million people.

    The earthquake has devastated the capital, Port-au-Prince, leaving basic services on the brink of collapse. The UN estimates that 10 percent of the buildings in the city have been destroyed, leaving 300,000 people homeless, and many are fleeing the destruction.

    The 562 million U.S. dollars is intended to assist an estimated 3 million affected people over a period of six months, with half of the funds being earmarked for emergency food aid, with the rest targeted at health, water, sanitation, nutrition, early recovery, emergency education and other key needs. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated 25 million U.S. dollars towards the appeal.

A resident carries Samael Jachond, who was rescued from the remains of his house, four days after a major earthquake hit the capital Port-au-Prince January 15, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Because of the lack of detailed information from the ground, the appeal will be revised in the coming weeks, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.

    The UN is working to overcome serious obstacles to providing aid posed by lack of infrastructure and other issues, and Holmes underscored the need to recognize the reality that "inevitably and despite everyone's enormous efforts," it will take some time to scale up the pace of the operations.

    With the top UN official in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, still unaccounted for, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon dispatched Edmond Mulet, his former Special Representative to Haiti and current Assistant-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, to the country to assume full command of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and coordinate the relief effort.

    The Office for the Coordination Affairs (OCHA) said that food and medical help have started to arrive in Port-au-Prince, but on a limited scale.

    OCHA is coordinating some 27 search-and-rescue teams -- considered a top priority as many people remained trapped under rubble -- while a further 10 teams are set to arrive shortly.

Rescuers provide medical aid to an earthquake victim named Perst, 35, in the capital Port-au-Prince January 15, 2010.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Dozens of nations have offered their assistance, and the UN is working to ensure that the aid reaches people as quickly as possible.

    With many survivors having sustained serious injuries, including traumatic wounds and crushed limbs, medical support has been identified as an immediate need, along with food, water and shelter. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) is coordinating medical assistance and sending a 12-member team specializing in victim care, while its partners are ramping up their efforts on the ground.

    The WHO said Thursday that eight hospitals were damaged or destroyed in Haiti and two damaged in neighboring Dominican Republic. "We fear that the impact of this earthquake will be particularly devastating to the already existing vulnerability of Haiti's people, society and economy," said WHO's Paul Garwood.

    OCHA said Friday that while the number of mobile hospitals set to arrive in the country is sufficient, there is still a great need for doctors, nurses and medicine. The Office also noted that it is conferring with Haitian authorities on the possibility of the national soccer stadium being used as a field hospital location.

    For its part, the World Food Program (WFP) is continuing with its food distributions, aiming to reach 2 million people affected by the quake.

    The agency refuted media reports that its warehouses in Haiti had been looted and its food stocks stolen. It is also acquiring two helicopters that it will send to the country immediately, and moving nearly 90 metric tons of high-energy biscuits from El Salvador.

    Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) highlighted as one of its key concerns identifying and reuniting children who have been separated from their parents in the disaster, as well as finding the extended families of orphaned children.

    Nearly half of Haiti's population is under the age of 18, making children very vulnerable, UNICEF stressed, adding that many children are on the streets of Port-au-Prince, hungry, thirsty and traumatized.

    It is working around the clock to register children who are on their own, as well as to provide water purification tablets, latrines, shelter materials and hygiene kits.

UN chief to travel to Haiti to show solidarity with quake victims

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks to reporters at UN headquarters in New York, the United States, Jan. 15, 2010. The United Nations on Friday issued a flash appeal of 550 million U.S. dollars to provide emergency care to thousands of Haitians suffering from the fallout of Tuesday's earthquake that has devastated the country and created an epic humanitarian challenge.(Xinhua/Shen Hong) Photo Gallery>>>

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced here Friday that he will soon travel to Haiti, which was devastated by a massive earthquake earlier this week, to show solidarity with the people of the impoverished Caribbean nation. Full story

China delivers aid, rescue team to quake-hit Haiti

Members of a Chinese rescue team with sniffer dogs are ready to board a plane leaving for quake-hit Haiti, at the Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 13, 2010. A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday local time, collapsing a hospital and damaging government buildings in its capital city of Port-au-Prince. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China sent an emergency rescue team Wednesday evening to quake-hit Haiti, where several thousands of lives may have been claimed.

    Chinese leadership expressed sympathy with and deep condolence to the Haitian people for their loss in the strongest ever quake in about 200 years in the Caribbean islands country, with which China has no diplomatic relations. Full story

China donates $1 mln to quake-hit Haiti

    BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Red Cross Society of China has decided to donate one million U.S. dollars of emergency aid to quake-hit Haiti, said a statement from the State Council on Wednesday.

    A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday local time, collapsing a hospital and damaging government buildings in its capital city of Port-au-Prince. Full story

World Bank to provide additional emergency aid to Haiti

    WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank said Wednesday it will provide an additional 100 million U.S. dollars in emergency grant funding to support recovery and reconstruction in Haiti in response to a magnitude-7.0 earthquake that caused extensive damage and casualties in the Caribbean nation on Tuesday.

    "This is a shocking event and it is crucial that the international community supports the Haitian people at this critical time," a World Bank press release quoted bank group President Robert B. Zoellick as saying. Full story

16 UN staffers confirmed dead in Haiti: Ban

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here Wednesday that 16 UN staffers were confirmed dead in Haiti in the wake of Tuesday's devastating earthquake.

    The 16 include 11 Brazilians, one Argentine, three Jordanian police officers, and one Chadian officer, said Ban.Full story

Earthquake crushes thousands of buildings in Haiti

    SANTO DOMINGO, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- A major earthquake rocked Haiti on Tuesday, crushing thousands of buildings, including the presidential palace and the U.N. peacekeeping headquarters, and trapping untold numbers of people in the rubble of the capital city.

    The devastation from the magnitude-7.3 quake, the strongest ever recorded on the poor Caribbean island, was so complete that it seemed likely the death toll would run into the thousands, according to reports monitored here. Full story

"Scale of catastrophe in Haiti is very high," says UN peacekeeping chief   

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations deals with humanitarian crises all the time but the devastating earthquake in Haiti has stricken especially close to home, said the head of UN peacekeeping forces Alain Le Roy here Wednesday.

    With the number of fatalities among UN staff members rising, LeRoy said the emotion is "extremely high." Full story

Over 100 UN personnel trapped in collapsed headquarters in Haiti earthquake

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- A total of 100 to 150 UN personnel were trapped under the rubble of the main building of the UN mission in Port au Prince, Haiti, which collapsed in a powerful earthquake, UN officials said Wednesday.

    The UN staff members were still working at the headquarters of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) when the earthquake struck, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters at UN Headquarters. Full story

Special Report: Strong Quake Rocks Haiti