P-au-P, July 4, 2024 [AlterPresse] — The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is appealing for emergency humanitarian aid for nearly 600,000 internally displaced people in Haiti, more than half of whom are children, in a press release seen by the online agency AlterPresse.
The number of internally displaced children in Haiti has increased by about 60% since March 2024 – the equivalent of one child every minute – due to ongoing violence by armed groups, UNICEF estimates.
“Children in Haiti continue to face many dangers, including horrific violence and critical levels of displacement,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
She spoke of the devastating impact of the humanitarian catastrophe on children, especially displaced children, who “desperately need a safe and protective environment, as well as increased support and funding from the international community.”
She notes how poor hygiene conditions in camps and makeshift settlements put children at increased risk of disease, including cholera.
Additionally, school closures and financial constraints caused by the ongoing violence have forced many to drop out of school.
“The needs in Haiti continue to grow, as do the dangers children face. Everyone has a role to play in changing the trajectory and ensuring children are back in school, safe, and have access to basic services. Children should not have to pay with their lives and futures for a crisis created by adults,” Russell said.
“While 90% of the Haitian population lives in poverty and three million children are in need of humanitarian assistance, this new wave of internally displaced people must also face what the National Emergency Operations Center has described as the “hyperactivity” of the hurricane season,” the statement read.
On May 21, 2024, a whirlwind destroyed the homes of 650 children in Bassin Bleu, in the North-West department of Haiti, recalls UNICEF.
The departments located on the southern coast of Haiti are currently on orange alert and those less exposed, on yellow alert, on the occasion of the passage in the Caribbean Sea of the powerful hurricane Beryl of category 5, then reduced to 4, according to information gathered by AlterPresse. [mff emb 03/07/2024 14:10]
