New York - Some 7,500 Haitians have been given jobs under programmes carried out by the UN Development Programme since the country was devastated by four consecutive hurricanes in recent months, UNDP said Wednesday.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, was hardest hit in August and September by hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless.

The UNDP helped provide jobs for 7,500 people in Gonaives constructing dikes and water walls, and planting trees to prevent landslides. The employment programmes were financed by France and Japan and were also implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization and International Labour Organization.

"Employment is the key precondition for social stability" in Haiti, said Jean Marie Vander, an adviser to UNDP and the ILO in Gonaives, one of the hardest hit places in the island nation. "With donor support, we are ready to immediately scale-up the programme by another 2,500 people."

UNDP said it plans to ultimately provide employment to 400,000 Haitians, a long-term programme to help the country that has been battered by food riots and destruction by hurricanes. (dpa)