Haiti Emergency Situation Report No. 12 (As of 27 March 2024) – Haiti

This report is produced by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Haiti in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the humanitarian situation in Port-au-Prince following the violence that broke out on 29 February. The report covers the period from 25-27 March 2024.

HIGHLIGHTS

2.1M Litres of water distributed to displaced people since 29 February

263K Hot meals distributed to displaced people in Port-au-Prince since 29 February

$674M 2024 Humanitarian Appeal

7% Funding level of the 2024 Humanitarian Appeal

SITUATION OVERVIEW

In a statement issued today, UNICEF has strongly condemned the recent arson attack on a school in downtown Port-auPrince by armed groups. On the afternoon of 25 March, heavily armed groups entered the school premises and set fire to 23 classrooms, burning much of the school and depriving over 1,000 children of their right to education. The number of schools forced to close due to violence and insecurity has risen in recent months. As of the end of January, a total of 900 schools had closed temporarily, affecting approximately 200,000 children. Threats to school security are particularly acute in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince and in the northern part of Artibonite.

The alarming surge in armed violence in areas of Haiti is creating heightened risk of furthering a malnutrition crisis in the country, UNICEF said on 26 March. Recent findings from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis indicate an alarming 19 per cent increase in the number of children estimated to suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in Haiti this year. Additionally, 1.64 million people are facing emergency levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 4), increasing the risk of child wasting and malnutrition, particularly in eight areas of the country. The ongoing armed violence across the Artibonite and the Ouest departments, including Port au Prince, has restricted aid delivery and crumbled an already fragile healthcare system, posing an imminent threat to the lives of over 125,000 children at risk of SAM.

In response to ongoing civil unrest and disruptions in healthcare, Direct Relief today announced $1 million in financial support to nine healthcare organizations providing essential health services across the country. Since March 2023, Direct Relief has provided more than $3.2 million in medical aid to 11 healthcare organizations in Haiti.