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Haiti
Turning to Haiti, just a quick humanitarian update on the country, given all that is going on. The number of people in need has increased drastically over the past year. As a result, 40 per cent of Haiti’s population, that is 40 per cent of 11.4 million, will require humanitarian assistance. And that comes up to 4.4 million people. This considerable increase, as you can imagine, is a consequence of a series of sociopolitical crises that have significantly impacted existing fragilities and impacted the resilience of the Haitian people. Haitians have also been hit by the spread of COVID-19 and the impact of natural disasters, such as last summer’s tropical storm Laura. Insecurity has also increased in the country. This includes kidnappings, clashes between armed gangs leading to civilian deaths, the burning of houses and the displacement of people. Public demonstrations and strikes have also continued to paralyze basic services. Most schools in Haiti have been closed since the first week of February. However, our colleagues tell us that there are indications that schooling may resume next week if the security situation allows. In 2020, 1.4 million people in Haiti were reached with humanitarian assistance through the Humanitarian Response Plan, receiving $155.7 million out of the $472 million requested.