The international airport was closed due to rampant gang violence in the country.
The flight carried nearly 15 tons of medicines and medical supplies to be added to the UN Children’s Fund resources.UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Mr Dujarric said this will “support critical, life-saving operations as insecurity continues to limit people’s access to healthcare, especially in the metropolitan area of the capital Port-au-Prince and in the Artibonite department.”
Funding shortage
The Secretary-General’s spokesman said local non-governmental organizations, together with WHO, provide many services to displaced civilians, including “malnutrition screening, cholera prevention and also psychosocial support.”
Mr. Dujarric said he hopes the gradual opening of Haiti’s airport will allow more supplies to be transported; he said donor support is needed.
A humanitarian response plan for the country requires $674 million, but only 21 percent of the money – $142 million – has been received, he added.
Multinational security support
Meanwhile, UNICEF warns of the recruitment of children by armed groups in Haiti, the Secretary-General’s spokesman said.
Children reportedly make up 30 to 50 percent of armed groups’ members, exposing them to “coercion, abuse and exploitation as a result of persistent social, economic and political vulnerability caused by the ongoing violence that has thrown parts of the country into chaos.” has caused.”
Haiti’s Ministries of Justice, Education and Labor and Social Affairs are working to facilitate the reintegration of young people who had previously belonged to armed groups, in the hope that this will secure their well-being.
Mr Dujarric said that the UN Secretary General António Guterres has called for the immediate deployment of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti to assist local police in tackling security situations.
He said Mr Guterres calls on Member States to ensure that the MSS is adequately supported financially and logistically.
Mr. Dujarric said the fact that children are part of armed groups in Haiti is reason to quickly deploy the MSS.
