UNICEF Executive Director Urges Immediate International Action to Address Escalating Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti.
New York:
UNICEF Executive Director, alongside the designated Principal Advocate for the Humanitarian Situation in Haiti, addressed a critical meeting on the worsening humanitarian crisis in Haiti, highlighting severe rights violations, particularly against children, and the urgent need for international intervention.
The humanitarian situation in Haiti has reached catastrophic levels, with daily abuses and threats to life reported across the country. Armed groups are committing grave violations, including killing, maiming, and sexually assaulting children. This year, incidents of sexual violence against children have surged by a staggering 1,000 percent. Armed groups are also exploiting children, recruiting them as soldiers, informants, and sex slaves, with children now making up 50 percent of armed group members. The total number of recruited children has increased by 70 percent in the past year.
The crisis has left over 5.5 million people, including 3 million children, in dire need of humanitarian aid. An alarming 700,000 people are displaced, many living in overcrowded and unsafe conditions. With critical services like water, sanitation, and healthcare collapsing, disease outbreaks such as cholera are rapidly spreading, and 1.5 million children have lost access to education.
Despite the extreme challenges, UNICEF and its partners have reached more than 259,000 people with essential water, sanitation, and health services this year. However, the response is still grossly underfunded, with only 43 percent of the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti funded. Critical sectors such as child protection, education, and nutrition are among the most underfunded.
The UNICEF Executive Director called on the international community to urgently increase flexible funding for humanitarian operations, invest in long-term development, and support the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti. A priority, she emphasized, is the protection of children, particularly those exploited by armed groups, urging the Haitian police and international forces to ensure safe reintegration and recovery for affected children.
“The people of Haiti have suffered far too much for far too long. The international community has the tools and resources to help them recover,” the UNICEF Executive Director said. “The children of Haiti are counting on us. We must not let them down.”
