While the crisis has created enormous needs, less than a quarter of the nearly $680 million humanitarian plan launched in February has been funded.
“For many people in Haiti it is very clear that they pay the high price “of the violence that has ravaged the country again,” said Edem Wosornu, director of Operations and Advocacy at the UN emergency agency OCHAwhere he briefed journalists in New York.
Lives disrupted by violence
She spoke from the Haitian capital together with Lucia Elmi, director of emergency programs at the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Andrea Koulaimah from the European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Department, better known as ECHO.
The top officials concluded a four-day visit to the Caribbean country, where 11 million people – the entire population – “have had their lives shaken in one way or another by the violence”, Ms Elmi said.
The situation has forced nearly 600,000 Haitians to flee their homes, and displacement has increased by 60 percent since MarchAbout five million people are suffering from acute hunger, and nearly 1.6 million people are at risk of starvation.
‘Window of possibilities’
Haiti’s health and education systems have also been hit hard, with only two of its five hospitals still functioning, and more than 900 schools are closedwhich means that approximately 200,000 children are unable to attend school.
“We only have eight weeks until the start of the new school year, so there is an opportunity that we really need to seize to not only get those schools back open, but get them functioning again,” she said.
Number of cases of sexual violence is increasing
Ms Elmi noted that women and children have been disproportionately affected by the crisis and that the level of brutality and violence they have endured “has been really, really painful”.
According to her, the number of cases of sexual violence is 400 times higher than last year, when about 100,000 cases were reported.
She recalled a visit to a center in Port-au-Prince that supports survivors, including a 14-year-old girl whose family had been abducted and some members murdered. Despite being raped and beaten for days, the teen remains determined to finish her studies and become a social worker.
Government commitment assured
The humanitarian workers traveled to other parts of Haiti, including Gonaïves in the north and Les Cayes in the south, and spoke to a wide range of people, including farmers, out-of-school children, mothers and “fierce” female entrepreneurs.
They also held talks with the authorities, in particular with the new Prime Minister Garry Connille.
Ms Koulaimah said that while the crisis requires a stronger and better-resourced response, humanitarian aid alone is not enough to solve the crisis.
“It must be resolved by the Haitians themselves“And the government has assured us that they will do everything they can to get out of the current crisis, and they need our support,” she said.
She stressed the need for more funding and insisted that humanitarian aid is being delivered and “achieving its objectives”, despite access challenges.
Support Haiti
Mrs Wosornu added that “Haiti needs real, sustainable solutions to promote development”, which includes the rehabilitation of schools, health centres and other basic services.
During the visit, Haitians repeatedly called for three simple things: peace, an end to the violence and getting their lives back, she said.
“We conclude our visit by reiterating our call to the international community to stand with the people of Haiti,” she said.
“We owe it to the women, we owe it to the children, and we owe it to the old men and women and to all the people of Haiti that we have encountered throughout the country.”
UN mission extended
Earlier on Friday, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution in New York to extend the mandate of the UN political mission in Haiti, ALMOSTuntil July 15, 2025.
The 15 ambassadors condemned in the strongest terms the increasing violence, criminal activities, mass displacement and human rights violations that undermine the peace, stability and security of the country and the region.
The members of the Council welcomed the establishment of the transitional governance arrangement and the subsequent establishment of the Presidential Transitional Council and the inauguration of the interim Prime Minister and his cabinet.
They reaffirmed the need for all Haitian stakeholders to “continue to promote a Haitian-led and -owned political process aimed at holding free and fair parliamentary and presidential elections.”
In this context, they stressed the need for full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women and the involvement of youth, civil society and other relevant stakeholders.
They also called on all Haitian stakeholders to “urgently establish a Provisional Electoral Council and agree on a sustainable, time-bound and widely accepted roadmap for the elections.”
BINUH is the French acronym for the UN Integrated Office in Haiti, which was established by the Security Council in June 2019.
The mission is based solely in Port-au-Prince and works primarily with state institutions to strengthen political stability and good governance, promote a peaceful and stable environment, and protect and promote human rights.
