UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has allocated nine million US dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) amid worsening violence and displacement in Haiti.
UN spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, told the daily briefing on Tuesday that Fetcher is now in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country and this new funding “will help us and our partners step up life-saving support to the most vulnerable, including those who have fled their homes and host communities in the Centre and Artibonite departments”. Dujarric said that they are facing acute shortages of food, water, shelter, healthcare, sanitation and protection.
Since March, armed attacks have escalated in these areas, triggering mass displacement and the collapse of essential services.
“Across Haiti, as we mentioned yesterday, more than 1.3 million people are internally displaced – the highest number ever recorded in Haiti due to violence and insecurity,” Dujarric told reporters.
He said given the vast needs, the new funding is being complemented by four million US dollars from the Regional Humanitarian Pooled Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean, with those resources also meant to support displaced people and host communities.
He said the regional pooled fund has also allocated US$500,000 for hurricane preparedness efforts.
“As you know, we are in the midst of hurricane season in the area. This additional funding comes at a critical time, when humanitarian response continues to face drastic shortfalls. Only US$105 million of the US$908 million we need for Haiti is in the bank,” Dujarric sad.
He said Fletcher, who is also the head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday visited a displacement site, a hospital and a youth centre in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
