“ Countless
children”
risk losing their lives due to the multidimensional crisis ravaging Haiti, the head of Unicef warned on Tuesday, worrying in particular about 125,000 children at risk of acute malnutrition.
“Violence and instability in Haiti have consequences far beyond the risk of violence itself.
The situation is creating a health and food crisis that could cost the lives of countless children
,” Catherine Russell said in a statement.
“Thousands of children are on the brink, with life-saving aid ready to be distributed if the violence stops and roads and hospitals reopen
,” she added.
According to the latest report from the Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) framework published a few days ago, the situation has deteriorated in the country with nearly 5 million people, or almost half of the population, in situation of serious food insecurity, including 1.64 million at level 4 (emergency) of the IPC scale which has 5.
The escalation of gang violence in the Artibonite and Ouest departments, which includes the capital Port-au-Prince, has restricted the distribution of humanitarian aid and affected the already fragile health system,
" creating an imminent threat to the lives of more than 125,000 children at risk of acute malnutrition
,” said UNICEF.
In this context, the UN agency calls on the international community to accelerate a return to order - while the promised deployment of a multinational security mission led by Kenya is still awaited - and to increase financial support.
The UN humanitarian response plan for Haiti in 2024, estimated at $674 million, is less than 7% funded.