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18-03-2024
PORT-AU-PRINCE: The UN children’s agency said on Saturday one of its aid containers at Haiti’s main port, stocked with “essential items for maternal, neonatal and child survival,” was looted, as gangs increasingly control the capital.
Haiti is struggling to resolve a long-running political and humanitarian crisis that the children’s agency, UNICEF, has warned is causing record hunger and life-threatening malnutrition in parts of the capital Port-au-Prince.
The unelected Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, said this week he would step down once a transitional council was in place. Heavily armed gangs have taken over much of the city, and rights groups have reported widespread killings, kidnappings and sexual violence.
UNICEF said one of its 17 containers had been looted at the Port-au-Prince port, where it said 260 humanitarian-owned containers were controlled by armed groups.
“Looting of supplies that are essential for life saving support for children must end immediately,” said Bruno Maes, UNICEF’s Haiti representative, in a statement.
“This incident occurs at a critical moment when children need them the most.”
The supplies in the looted container included resuscitators and related equipment, UNICEF said. The agency warned that three out of four women in the Port-au-Prince area do not have access to basic healthcare and nutrition.
Also in Port-au-Prince, some hospitals have been forced to close over safety concerns, and only two surgical operating facilities are operational, according to UNICEF.
Shortages of electricity, fuel and medical supplies have affected hospitals nationwide, with six out of ten facilities not able to function, UNICEF added.
Henry is set to be replaced by a presidential council that will have two observers and seven voting members, including representatives from a number of political coalitions, the business sector, civil society and one religious leader.
The council has been mandated to quickly appoint an interim prime minister; anyone who intends to run in Haiti’s next elections will not be able participate.
Haiti has lacked elected representatives since early 2023 and its next elections will be the first since 2016. Henry, who many Haitians consider corrupt, had repeatedly postponed elections, saying security must first be restored.
Regional leaders met on Monday in nearby Jamaica to discuss the framework for a political transition, which the US had urged last week to be “expedited” as armed gangs sought to topple his government.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier Monday said the council would be tasked with meeting the “immediate needs” of Haitians, enabling the security mission’s deployment and creating security conditions necessary for free elections.
Haiti declared a state of emergency early this month as clashes damaged communications and led to two prison breaks after Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier, a leader of an alliance of armed groups, said they would unite and overthrow Henry. (Int’l News Desk)
