New data from the International Organization for Migration indicates a 22 percent spike in the number of people uprooted from their homes since June.
IOM said gang violence had forced more than 110,000 people to flee their homes in the past seven months, mainly in Gressier, which is west of the capital.
Grégoire Goodstein, IOM chief in Haiti, said the sharp increase in the number of displaced people underlines the urgent need for a sustainable humanitarian response from the international community.
Moved several times
The UN agency noted that while more than 65,000 people had returned to the Cité Soleil neighborhood near the capital, known for deadly clashes between rival gangs, these returnees are “often displaced again after new attacks”.
As humanitarian needs increase, IOM has continued to provide critical assistance to displaced people and host communities, although access for relief teams remains difficult and dangerous in some places.
IOM reaffirmed that it would continue to work with the Government of Haiti and international partners to provide life-saving assistance and find long-term solutions for the displaced.
It is critical that efforts to restore stability and security across the country continue, the agency said, in addition to humanitarian assistance to alleviate immediate suffering.
Global vaccination rates are still below pre-pandemic levels
Global immunization coverage has remained below pre-pandemic levels and the number of children who have not received any vaccine has risen to 14.5 million.
That is An’s worrying finding expert group of health advisors meeting at the UN World Health Organization (WHO), which stated that more than half of these so-called ‘zero dose’ children live in 31 predominantly developing countries.
Many of these countries are vulnerable and affected by conflict, according to the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), which blames a lack of political will and declining investment in immunization programs for the lack of success in reaching vulnerable young people .
New advice
The expert group also issued new vaccine advice to low- and middle-income countries with a high burden of respiratory syncytial virus among children.
It is a common virus that affects the nose, throat and lungs and is a leading cause of hospital admissions in young and elderly people.
“It is clear that there is a great benefit to be expected and that is why we have recommended that all countries should introduce maternal vaccination or the monoclonal antibody to protect small children,” said Dr. Hanna Nohynek, president of SAGE.
She added that respiratory syncytial virus has increased dramatically since then COVID-19 and now accounts for approximately one in three of those hospitalized with lower respiratory infections worldwide.
“Almost all deaths from the virus are occurring in low- and middle-income countries,” she confirmed.
Nearly 70 million people in East Africa need humanitarian assistance
New estimates from humanitarian workers in East Africa indicate that nearly 67 million people in the region are now in need of assistance.
“That is more than 20 percent of the total number of people in need worldwide,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said during a briefing to reporters in New York on Wednesday.
The region is facing some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, caused by climate change, conflict, political instability, economic shocks and disease outbreaks, he continued.
Spread of the Marburg virus
Measles and Mpox outbreaks continue; as of September 26, at least 776 cases of Mpox had been reported in the region.
“The Marburg virus is now spreading. At least 29 cases have been confirmed in Rwanda, including nine fatalities,” Mr Dujarric said.
Most cases so far have involved healthcare workers. Just under 300 contacts have been registered and are being followed up, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Marburg virus disease (MVD) is a serious and often fatal zoonotic hemorrhagic disease caused by the virus, which is most commonly transmitted to humans by fruit bats.
Human-to-human transmission occurs through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or with equipment and materials contaminated with infectious blood or tissues. There is currently no vaccine or specific treatment for MVD.
Mr Dujarric said the UN’s humanitarian partners continue to provide assistance to millions of people in East Africa.
“However, by the end of last month, only 38 percent of the $9.3 billion needed for humanitarian response efforts in East Africa this year was available, limiting our ability – and that of our partners – to scale.”
