UNICEF calls for more help for Children of Haiti amid crisis

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer 

#Haiti, November 10, 2023 – Children in Haiti require more help now more than ever and world leaders are being called to lend more support to protect the young lives, the call of UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, pointed out the unfortunate situation at a UN Security Council Briefing last October, citing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the republic as responsible.

She referred to children being killed and injured in crossfire, some on their way to school, emphasizing the unfathomable danger plaguing the island.

“In some communities, life is more dangerous now than it has ever been,” she maintained.

The executive director’s words were featured in an article by the organization which further revealed that children are also being forcibly recruited to fight with gangs, while some are joining “out of sheer desperation.”

Also, UNICEF speaks to nearly three million children, a part of half the population in need  of help in any way possible, featuring Russell saying that half of the population that needs help isn’t getting it as she added that, “basic services are on the verge of collapse.”

In continuation, the organization expressed that 1 in 4 children in Haiti are chronically malnourished, an estimate of 115,000, a 30 percent increase since 2022; it further pointed out the resurgence of cholera, despite being declared cholera-free on February 4th 2022.

UNICEF’s appeal for support, the article says, includes funding to respond effectively  to humanitarian needs as well as building conditions for more shock-responsive systems.