To reverse the situation, the international community and donors will have to increase funding for relief operations by the United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the United Nations humanitarian office, OCHAsaid in the latest news support note.
Hunger and growing need
Months of violence have worsened Haiti’s humanitarian crisis. The number of displaced people has tripled in the last year in Haiti as gang violence continues to rock the Caribbean island nation, with nearly 600,000 people on the run.
“Indiscriminate violence by armed groups and the near-total collapse of basic services have plunged Haiti into an unprecedented humanitarian crisis since 2010,” OCHA reported, referring to the devastating earthquake that struck the country 14 years ago.
According to the latest report from the International Organization for Migration, following the escalation of the security situation in the capital Port-au-Prince and Artibonite in the north in February, the number of displaced people has jumped by 60 percent.IOM) data tracking matrix because Haiti.
Basic services collapse
Violence continues to target civilian infrastructure, with only 24 percent of hospitals still functioning, OCHA reported. The unrest has also left 1.5 million children out of school.
Half of the 578,000 displaced people, desperate to flee the capital for safety, have moved south, where the majority are staying with already economically disadvantaged host families.
However, basic social services such as education, health, clean water, sanitation and hygiene, which were already inadequate to meet the needs of local people, have now been severely affected, OCHA reported.
Forced Deportation
Meanwhile, the forced repatriation of Haitians from countries in the region continues.
In fact, deportations of Haitian citizens have even increased, especially from April onwards, when the violence peaked, OCHA reported.
Nearly 100,000 people were deported from countries in the region to Haiti in the first seven months of the year, according to data from the IOM.
‘Wave of violence’
Fierce clashes between gangs and authorities also continue, even as multinational security assistance mission arrived in late June to help Haitian police deal with the ongoing crisis.
“This wave of violence continues to have humanitarian consequences for people in affected neighborhoods and localities, as well as in areas far from the capital, where hundreds of thousands of people live,” OCHA said in the report.
According to a report earlier this year by a global monitoring group, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IFA), nearly 300,000 cases of malnutrition have been recorded and five million people, about 50 percent of Haiti’s population, are facing severe food insecurity.IPC).
Fears the crisis will spread
According to OCHA, there are concerns that the epicenter of the current humanitarian crisis will gradually shift to many areas that were previously free of insecurity.
At the same time, the current hurricane season is expected to be intense and could cause further impacts on the daily lives of Haitians.
Haiti is bracing for four to seven major hurricanes in the coming months.
Vehicles act as barricades on a street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Call to fill the funding gap
OCHA said in the report that additional funding is urgently needed to meet the growing needs of the Haitian people affected by this multidimensional crisis.
OCHA fears that without more money, these crises will continue.
According to OCHA, there are humanitarian concerns that food insecurity will continue to spread, hundreds of thousands of children who are out of school will face the risk of being recruited by armed groups and experiencing “lost years”, growing up without the skills needed for their future and survival, and half a million vulnerable children and victims of protection incidents will be deprived of mental health services and psychosocial support.
“While humanitarian aid is a lifeline for many, it is only part of the solution,” the UN agency said.
“Governments, political and development actors must work together to find lasting solutions to Haiti’s structural challenges,” OCHA said, reiterating call carried out last month by a joint mission of the United Nations and the European Union to the country..
After the first eight months of the year, Haiti’s 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan is 33 percent funded, receiving $162.5 million out of a total of $674 million.
