Attachments
Appeal highlights
The humanitarian situation in Haiti stems from ongoing challenges and recurring crises fueled by prolonged political turmoil, disease outbreaks, natural disasters and escalating armed violence, which have led to chronic and acute humanitarian needs, including hunger, malnutrition, and gender-based violence which have reached unprecedented levels. Three million children need humanitarian and protection assistance, and many more may fall in need if unattended or if new shocks hit the country.
UNICEF is scaling up its response, in line with the UN system-wide scale-up activation, providing support to the Government, to ensure access to and continuity of basic services for the most vulnerable, while contributing to humanitarian, development/peacebuilding nexus strategies. UNICEF provides water, sanitation, and hygiene, education, health, nutrition, child protection and social protection services, supports cholera rapid-response teams, and maintains work in disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness.
UNICEF requests US$245.9 million to meet humanitarian needs in 2023.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AND NEEDS
The humanitarian situation in Haiti stems from ongoing challenges and recurring crises that lead to chronic and acute humanitarian needs. In 2023, over 5.2 million Haitians,6 nearly half of the population, will need humanitarian assistance and protection. Thousands of other highly vulnerable people may fall in need shortly if the situation continues to deteriorate or in case of new shocks. The compounded crises have differentiated impacts on distinct groups and regions: urban populations entrapped by armed violence; families displaced by violence; food insecure and marginalized communities outside the capital; and repatriated migrants. The influence of armed groups has increased, coupled with severe human rights violations.
Attacks on medical and educational assets are rising, including a nine-fold increase in armed violence against schools7. Access to education and health services for at least 1.5 million people has been restricted8, while UN agencies and non-governmental organizations have been targets of violent lootings. In April 2023, a civilian-led vigilante movement emerged, targeting and publicly executing members of armed groups. Children bear the brunt of the deteriorating security, economic and social situation, especially those living in violence-affected areas, and repatriated migrants. At least 128,000 people are internally displaced in the Port-Au-Prince Metropolitan Area9, of which 38 per cent live in spontaneous sites and 62 per cent in host communities, including many unaccompanied children exposed to abuse, exploitation and violence.
Catastrophic levels of food insecurity were recorded for the first time in 2022, and a staggering 30 per cent more children are projected to suffer from severe wasting this year, per the 2023 SMART survey. An estimated 115,600 children could be severely wasted in 202310, compared to 87,500 in 2022. In addition, nearly one in four children in Haiti suffer from chronic malnutrition (or stunting),11 a condition with long-term developmental and survival consequences.
The crisis is exacerbated by the cholera epidemic that resurfaced in Cité Soleil in October 2022 and has spread across the country. As of May 2023, over 42,350 suspected cases have been reported, almost half of them among children under the age of 14.12 Access to water is a major challenge and cause of the spread of cholera. As the disease ravages violence-ridden neighbourhoods, cholera and malnutrition pose a double burden that the national health system is unable to address.
Reconstruction efforts following the 2021 earthquake are limited and Haiti remains extremely susceptible to natural hazards.
Addressing the complex needs of affected populations will require a multi-sectoral, country-wide approach that goes beyond immediate relief, towards a more comprehensive response that supports recovery and resilience.