Humanitarian disaster in Haiti requires urgent international action, aid officials say – Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE/NEW YORK, 15 July 2024 – The complex humanitarian emergency in Haiti requires urgent attention and strategies that go beyond the emergency, three senior UN and EU officials said today at the end of a four-day visit to the country.

Representatives from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UNICEF and the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) saw first-hand the impact of the ongoing violence that is upending the daily lives of Haitians.

“What Haitians want most is peace that will allow them to go back to school, work their fields and access basic services like hospitalization,” says Edem Wosornu, OCHA’s Director of Operations and Advocacy.

As fighting continues in the country, over 578,000 Haitians have been displaced and nearly 5 million people are suffering from acute hunger – almost half of Haiti’s population – and 1.6 million are at risk of starvation. The violence has crippled Haiti’s agricultural sector – a key source of income for families – and affected education and health services: over 900 schools have been closed since January; and in the capital, Port-au-Prince, nearly 40 percent of all inpatient health facilities are out of service. The violence has led to income losses for families who were once economically independent and limited their ability to obtain adequate food and medical care. The majority of displaced families with school-age children do not know if they will be able to return to school.

Ms Wosornu met with Haitian politicians, including the new Prime Minister, Gary Conille, and officials from the cities of Les Cayes and Gonaives, alongside UNICEF Emergency Operations Director Lucia Elmi and ECHO Director Andrea Koulaimah. They stressed the need for the international community to continue to support the Haitian government in providing life-saving aid and development assistance.

“Millions of families are yearning for an end to this relentless violence. It is critical to strengthen protection measures for women and children – who are bearing the brunt of this crisis – and accelerate humanitarian assistance to those in need,” said Lucia Elmi, UNICEF’s Director of Emergency Operations.

The Haiti 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan allocates US$674 million. More than half of the year is already over, but the appeal is not even a quarter funded. The cost of inaction would be too high if humanitarian assistance to support the Haitian population is not collectively stepped up now. Despite the difficult security situation, international and national humanitarian partners have managed to find solutions to reach and support populations across the country.

While humanitarian aid is crucial, officials also stressed that the country’s problems stem from years of underinvestment in basic social services and that humanitarian aid is only a temporary solution that cannot address the country’s deep-rooted structural problems. “We need to anchor humanitarian aid in sustainability, it must serve as a springboard for permanent, sustainable reconstruction efforts,” said Andrea Koulaimah, the EU’s humanitarian director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

“We call on the international community not to miss this unique opportunity to intensify its efforts and mobilize resources to meet the most urgent humanitarian and development needs.”

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Contact: OCHA: Yvon Edoumou, +50937021757, [email protected]
UNICEF: Gessika Thomas, +50947503125, [email protected]
ECHO: Hilaire Avril, M +507 6330 9572, [email protected]