UN agencies providing assistance to Haitians. Photo: CMC/File

“In light of the significantly deteriorating security situation in Port-au-Prince, including in neighbourhoods where our offices are located, the United Nations is adapting its operations to ensure the continued delivery of critical humanitarian programmes,” said Farhan Haq, the Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

“We want to emphasize that the UN is not leaving Haiti. We continue supporting the Haitian people and authorities, with critical humanitarian assistance and political support to assist Haitian-led efforts to successfully carry out the political transition,” he said.

Haq said that essential UN personnel, from agencies and the UN Mission, BINUH, the UN’s political mission, remain in Port-au-Prince to carry out critical activities and that the UN continues to deliver programs outside the capital.

Haiti has been rocked by criminal gangs that have taken over a significant portion of the capital, Port au Prince.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Monday that the number of children being recruited into armed groups across Haiti has increased by 70 per cent over the past year.

It said the unprecedented spike also reveals the alarming deterioration of child protection amid escalating violence in the Caribbean nation.

According to the latest estimates, children now comprise up to half of all armed group members, with recruitment driven by widespread poverty, lack of education and collapse of essential services.

Regarding Cuba, Haq said that the UN team on the ground continues delivering assistance and supporting the government’s response.

Last week, the UN Resident Coordinator, Francisco Pichon, led a delegation to hurricane-affected areas in the west of the country to hear first-hand accounts from those affected and assess the situation.

“The UN Country Team also published an updated Plan of Action which seeks US$78.3 million to meet the most urgent needs of some 930,000 people and support early recovery efforts,” Haq said, adding that last week, an additional six million US dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) was allocated to support the hurricane response.

He said OCHA is also releasing a second emergency cash grant of US$100,000 for immediate supplies.