OCHA appeals $720M to support civilians facing gangs, hunger and cholera in Haiti

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau

UNITED NATIONS, 15th April. OCHA and partners on Friday appealed for $720 million to support over 3 million people in Haiti, where gangs, hunger, and cholera have plunged nearly half the population into humanitarian need.

The 2023 funding appeal is the largest for Haiti since the devastating 2010 earthquake and more than double the amount requested last year.

UN humanitarian affairs office said the number of Haitians who require aid to survive doubled over the past five years to 5.2 million, and the aim is to reach 60 per cent, or 3.2 million people.

Ulrika Richardson, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti said that the full 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan will be launched on 19 April, at “a critical time”, said

“With the situation in the country rapidly deteriorating, this year’s plan will address the most immediate humanitarian and protection needs while strengthening people’s and institution’s resilience to natural shocks,” she said.

“At the same time, what the people of Haiti desperately want is peace and security, and we should all support efforts to that end.”

OCHA said that a key driver of the crisis is gang violence spread across the country.

The agency noted 80 per cent of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, is either under the control or the influence of gangs.

“There is a constant climate of fear, especially in Port-au-Prince,” Ms. Richardson said.

“Haitians put their lives at risk simply by trying to go to work, feed their families, or take their children to school.”

OCHA reported armed violence disproportionately impacts women and girls, but boys are also affected.

The agency said that rape, including gang rape, and other forms of sexual violence, is being used to terrorize the population, including children as young as age 10.

 

It added that many gangs also recruit children into their ranks.