US First Lady Michelle Obama made a surprise visit to Haiti yesterday three months after the Caribbean nation was devastated by a massive earthquake, a Haitian official said.

Ms Obama stopped in Haiti on her first solo trip since her husband, Barack Obama, became President of the United States in January 2009. She was on her way to Mexico for a three-day trip where she was expected later in the day.

Haiti is still struggling to rebuild after the 7.0-magnitude quake struck the country on January 12, levelling much of the capital Port-au-Prince, killing more than 220,000 people and leaving 1.3 million Haitians homeless.

Hundreds of thousands of Haitians are still living in miserable conditions in makeshift camps which have sprung up around the capital, despite a massive international aid effort.

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