United Nations, May 16 (EFE).- The UN announced on Tuesday an emergency aid of 9 million dollars (8.3 million euros) to respond to the serious deterioration of the humanitarian crisis in Haiti and the lack of support from the donors.
The money comes from the Central Emergency Response Fund and has been approved by the organization’s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said.
According to the United Nations, Haiti has suffered a “massive deterioration in the humanitarian situation due to the explosion of violence and insecurity.”
In the last five years, the number of Haitians in need of humanitarian assistance has doubled, to 5.2 million, and in the last year the number of children suffering from severe malnutrition has increased by 30 percent.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian response plan designed by the UN for this year has only received 12% of the 720 million dollars considered necessary from donors.
Last year, the Government of Haiti called for international support to deal with the armed gangs that have become strong in the country and, in response, the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, proposed in October the establishment of an action force group made up of troops from one or several countries.
However, this project has not crystallized so far due to the difficulties in finding a country willing to lead this operation, which would not be carried out under the UN flag.
Visiting Jamaica this Monday, Guterres stressed the need for this international support so that Haiti can stabilize and emerge from the current crisis.
