Amid the political and economic crisis exacerbated by the assassination of Haiti’s ousted president on Wednesday, young people are also feeling the long-term effects of disrupted education and protection services. COVID-19 Epidemics, as well as the risk of storms.
UNICEF That said, it is seriously concerned that further violence and insecurity following the killings could pose serious challenges to humanitarian action in its group, and its ability to reach vulnerable children and families safely.
While UNICEF has life-saving supplies in Haiti, prolonged violence and instability could hamper the distribution and replenishment of supplies, including vaccines, medicines and medical supplies.
The worst crisis in years
“This is the worst humanitarian crisis the country has faced in the last few years, and it is declining this week,” said Bruno Mess, UNICEF Representative in Haiti.
“Many children’s lives depend on humanitarian aid and essential items, such as vaccines, syringes, medicines and medical food. When gangs are fighting on the streets and bullets are flying, it is difficult to reach the most vulnerable families with these life-saving supplies.”
“Unless humanitarian organizations provide a safe passage, thousands of affected children will be left without assistance,” he added.
In the first three months of 2021, UNICEF said that the number of severely malnourished children enrolled in Haiti’s health facilities had increased by 226 percent over the previous year.
Since the beginning of June, new clashes between rival armed groups have been taking place in some urban areas of the capital, Port-au-Prince, causing hundreds of homes to be burned or damaged.
Violence in the capital, Port-au-Prince, has forced more than 15,000 women and children to flee their homes, with 80 percent of them in the past four weeks.
COVID spike
According to UNICEF, there has been a gradual increase in the number of recent COVID cases in Haiti. The main COVID-19 dedicated hospitals are saturated and facing oxygen shortages, while some patients are dying as armed gang violence prevents ambulances from reaching them for oxygen and emergency treatment.
“Haiti is the only country in the Western Hemisphere where not a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine has been received. This is unacceptable, “said Mr Mess.
“Gang violence in and around Port-au-Prince will delay the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines and complicate their distribution across the country. In the midst of the turmoil Coronavirus In Haiti, hundreds of lives are at risk from an additional day without vaccination. ”
UNICEF support
UNICEF is supporting the distribution, transportation and storage of the COVID-1 vaccine at the right temperature. Over the past three years, the agency has installed more than 9,2020 solar refrigerators in remote areas, mainly to strengthen the cold chain in Haiti, where electricity is unreliable. Overall, UNICEF equips Haiti’s health facilities with solar refrigerators.
The agency is seeking i 9 million this year to meet the humanitarian needs of 1.5 million people in Haiti, more than 700,000 children, who have been raised by epidemics and mass violence. So far, this humanitarian appeal has protected only the 1 percent of the required funds.
