As the death count after Hurricane Matthew approaches 900 and reports of deadly cholera outbreaks begin to surface, Haitians have sent out desperate pleas for help.

Government officials estimate at least 350,000 people needed assistance after the devastating storm.

Yet accompanying many requests for aid comes a warning – do not give your money to the American Red Cross (ARC).

Video shows Hurricane Matthew devastation in Haiti

Trust in the ARC, and in foreign aid more widely, has been badly shaken by a 2015 report that found donations had been squandered.

Despite collecting nearly half a billion dollars to provide relief after the 2010 Haiti earthquake and pledging to build 700 permanent homes, the ARC has been accused of only building six.

“In the coming days, many of you are going to write and ask me how you can ‘help Haiti’,” one woman said on Twitter after the hurricane, “Do not give to the American Red Cross.”

She asked people to give instead to Haitian organisations and requested people not send goods that could be sourced locally.

The joint investigation by ProPublica and NPR found rampant mismanagement at the heart of the ARC and charged it with consistent misrepresentation of the success of its projects, particularly in housing.

The group has also been implored to hire more Haitians in its highest ranks.

Responding to the report, the American Red Cross said in a statement it was “disappointed, once again, by the lack of balance, context and accuracy in the most recent reporting by ProPublica and NPR”.

The allegations against the ARC came amid complaints against the failure of the entire international community to manage the 2010 Haitian disaster.

After the earthquake, close to £9bn was pledged to help the country in its recovery.

Yet critics argue that the money was not used so Haiti could be “built back better”, as officials had promised.

Instead, an estimated 55,000 Haitians are still living in tents or other makeshift shelters and few advances in disaster planning have been implemented.

The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew Show all 14 1 /14 The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 A woman illuminates her family with a candle as they sleep on the floor in a partially destroyed school used as a shelter after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Mist rises off the water as a flooded building is pictured after Hurricane Matthew passes in Lumberton, North Carolina, US Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Children sleep over metal sheets in a partially destroyed school used as a shelter after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 People carry the coffin of a woman who died during Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Destroyed houses are seen after Hurricane Matthew passes Grande Cayemite, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Clothes hang in an area destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Les Anglais, Haiti Reuters The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 A woman with cholera symptoms receives medical atention at the health center of Les Anglais, in Les Cayes in the southwest of Haiti Getty The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 11 October 2016 Residents line up for food after Hurricane Matthew in Anse D'Hainault, Haiti. Nearly a week after the storm smashed into southwestern Haiti, some communities have yet to receive any assistance, leaving residents who have lost their homes and virtually all of their belongings struggling to find shelter and water AP The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 People sick with cholera receive medical assistance at Saint Antoine hospital in Jeremi, Haiti. According to the UN after hurricane Matthew the disease has spread EPA The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 A woman and a child sit on a buckets amid the ruins of their home destroyed by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, Haiti AP The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 UN blue helmets load aid which arrived in US helicopters onto a truck for people affected by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti Getty The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 A UN helicopter lands next to aid sent by the United States for the people affected by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti Getty The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 10 October 2016 A boat passes a church in Nichols, South Carolina. Nearly 1 million homes and businesses still did not have power Monday morning in the Carolinas after Hurricane Matthew AP The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew 9 October 2016 Boats sit washed up on shore amongst the twisted docks at Palmetto Bay Marina damaged by Hurricane Matthew in Hilton Head, South Carolina AP

Following Hurricane Matthew, in Grand Anse alone there were 66,000 houses destroyed and a further 20,000 badly damaged, according to Unicef.

Government officials estimate that at least 350,000 people needed assistance, and concern was growing over an increase in cholera cases following widespread flooding unleashed by the deadly storm.