United Nations, Jun 16 (IANS): With staggering levels of violence in Haiti exacerbating hunger and malnutrition, the Unicef said that nearly 3 million children, the highest on record, need humanitarian support.
In its latest update, the Unicef said children face staggering levels of violence that have exacerbated hunger and malnutrition in a country already mired in poverty and a resurgence of cholera.
Children find themselves in the crossfire, or directly targeted, as armed groups terrorise the population in their fight for territory and control, mainly in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and increasingly in the neighbouring Artibonite region.
Children are being killed or injured on their way to school. Women and girls face extreme sexual violence. Kidnappings for ransom -- including of students, teachers, and health workers -- have skyrocketed, as have attacks on schools, the statement said.
Tens of thousands have been displaced by the violence.
At the same time, hunger and life-threatening malnutrition are at record levels across the country, concentrated in the capital's poorest, most insecure and congested neighbourhoods, where some families are virtually entrapped and cut off from essential services, according to the Unicef.
The number of children suffering from life-threatening malnutrition shot up by 30 percent since last year, and nearly one in four children across the country suffers from chronic malnutrition.
"Being a child in Haiti today is harsher and more dangerous than it ever has been in living memory," said Unicef Haiti representative Bruno Maes.
"The threats and hardships children face are simply unimaginable. They desperately need protection and support."
The statement further said that in addition to the violence, hunger and disease such as cholera, Haiti faces the constant threat of violent storms and earthquakes.
Earlier this month, heavy rains caused destructive and deadly flooding. Days later the deluge was followed by an earthquake centered in Grand Anse, a region still scarred by a 2021 earthquake.
Despite limited funding, the agency said it is scaling up its operations and expanding its presence in the field.
However, Haiti's $246 million unding requirement is less than 15 per cent funded this year.