58,000 children face malnutrition after Haiti’s capital blocked by gangs – UN

The capital of Haiti is mostly blocked off by gangs, making it hard for aid to reach 58,000 children with the most severe malnutrition. This is causing a big problem.

The leader of UNICEF, Catherine Russell, said that most of the kids in Haiti need help. Also, women and girls are facing a lot of violence based on their gender, and many armed groups have children in them.

Russell said the situation in Haiti is really bad and it’s getting worse every day, when speaking to the UN Security Council. “Port-au-Prince is now almost completely closed off because of blockades in the air, sea, and land. ”

Haiti is getting ready for a new nine-member council to replace Prime Minister Ariel Henry. He promised to step down on March 11 while he was outside the country and under pressure from the United States.

Haiti’s gangs, who have joined forces in an alliance called “Viv Ansanm” (Living Together), have been trying to remove Henry from power by attacking the capital. Despite Henry’s announcement, the attacks have not stopped.

Gangs and police fought near the National Palace on Monday, according to local media. The new council is going to start working in the palace, but we don’t know the exact date yet.

“Since March 8, almost 100,000 people from Port-au-Prince in Haiti have moved to other areas to get away from gang violence and find safety,” the UN special envoy on Haiti Maria Isabel Salvador said to the Security Council. Many people in the country don’t have enough food to eat, and the United Nations asked for $674 million in funding for 2024, but they only got 8% of it so far.

‘Running low on gas’

Armed men stopped the fuel import terminal in Haiti on Monday. They took control of the trucks and asked for the port to be closed.

Groups of people with weapons stopped the Varreux terminal from working for almost a month in October 2021, and then again for more than a month a year later. This stopped most businesses from happening and made the government ask for help from other countries.

“They don’t have much fuel left,” said Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme, who visited Haiti last weekend. He told Reuters this on Monday. “A ship is on its way. ” If the ships can park and unload their goods, then they are safe. But we’re worried about how many days it will take until they have no more supplies.

Many businesses rely on diesel generators for power. During the past blockades, hospitals had to close, radio stations stopped working, mobile antennas ran out of fuel, and transportation stopped.

In October 2023, the Security Council gave permission for a security mission from another country to go to Haiti. But Kenya has not yet started the mission because of legal and funding problems. Kenya has taken the lead in this mission but it has not started yet.

Russell said that if security forces go to crowded cities, the safety of the people there is the most important thing.

She said we should try not to use force in places where people live, and our mission should only use the least harmful methods needed to enforce the law.