Esther Imonmion
The United Nations has raised the alarm over an imminent funding shortfall that could cripple humanitarian efforts in Haiti by the end of September.
U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher issued the warning during a one-day visit to Port-au-Prince on Tuesday. Fletcher assessed conditions in the capital, where escalating gang violence has killed thousands and displaced more than 1.3 million people.
“It makes me furious,” Fletcher said after touring one of the overcrowded makeshift shelters that now house families driven from their homes. He noted that while relief efforts are underway, the scale of support remains far below what is urgently needed.
Fletcher also visited Hopital Universitaire La Paix, described by the World Health Organization as a “beacon of resilience” in Haiti’s collapsing health system. The facility remains the only public hospital capable of handling mass casualties, rape survivors, and maternal and infant care. Fletcher warned that the hospital’s operations could be “in jeopardy” if funding dries up by month’s end.
The U.N. official concluded his trip at a youth center in Delmas, opened in June with support from UNICEF and the United States Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights. The center provides education and vocational training to young people affected by violence and displacement.
The United Nations has repeatedly sounded the alarm over Haiti’s worsening security and humanitarian crisis. With gangs exerting near-total control over Port-au-Prince, authorities remain unable to halt the surge of violence devastating the Caribbean nation.