UN Food Agency Appeals for Urgent Support for Haiti
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The World Food Program (WFP) is appealing for $46 million to bridge the next 6 months in Haiti.
This appeal is to support 2 million Haitians who face dire food insecurity concerns. However, many leading economies face sluggish growth and inflationary pressures.
AP News reports, “Gangs have grown in power since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021 and are now estimated to control 85% of the capital and are moving into surrounding areas. Haiti has not had a president since the assassination, and the top U.N. official in the country said in April the country could face “total chaos” without funding to confront the gangs.”
Last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) confirmed that over 5,500 people were killed in Haiti. This concerns gang violence. Therefore, the spiralling violence in Port-au-Prince is a way of life for vast numbers year after year.
Hence, the capital city, Port-au-Prince, continues to be blighted by death, gang violence, hopelessness, and endless insecurity.
UN News reports, “Gangs, armed with increasingly sophisticated weapons mostly trafficked from abroad, are killing civilians, destroying schools and healthcare facilities, and using sexual violence and mass kidnappings to terrorise communities.”
Food insecurity affects roughly five million people. Equally bleak, the health system is in crisis. Accordingly, the mortality rate is being hit by an array of negative factors – adding to the feeling of desperation for the poorest in society.
The United Nations-backed mission to stem the cycle of violence is underfunded and understaffed. Hence, the violence continues unabated.
Modern Tokyo Times reported in the past, “Sadly, it is difficult for Haitians to trust their politicians, the United Nations, and international charities – given the recent history of Haiti. This concerns countless child sex scandals, the nightmare of spreading cholera, and other ills. Therefore, if one nation sums up internal and external failure, it is the nation of Haiti.”
Haiti can’t seek to escape the ineptitude of internal politicians, gang-related violence, mass displacement, rampant poverty, and the failure of the international community. Accordingly, the omens look negative.
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