UN humanitarian chief warns of imminent funding crisis in Haiti

UN Humanitarian Affairs chief in Haiti warned on Tuesday that not enough is being done to support humanitarian efforts and that funds could run out by the end of the month.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief (OCHA) Coordinator Tom Fletcher visited the capital, Port-au-Prince, for a one-day trip to the troubled country.

Fletcher aims to evaluate the deteriorating humanitarian crisis caused by widespread gang violence that has killed thousands and left more than a million homeless.

The Under-Secretary started the visit with a tour of one of the hundreds of makeshift shelters that house some of the 1.3 million people in Haiti who have been internally displaced due to escalating gang violence, according to the latest UN report.

Walking through the narrow paths in the overcrowded shelter, Fetcher said that what was being done to help the people was important, but that there was still a gap in support.

"It makes me furious," said Fletcher.

Hospitals and youth centres under threat from lack of funding

Fletcher also visited the Hopital Universitaire La Paix, which the World Health Organization called a "beacon of resilience" in the heart of the crisis when gang attacks forced many hospitals to close in an already fragile health system.

The hospital is at the forefront of the response to the current emergency. It is the only public hospital capable of managing a large number of severely wounded patients, victims of rape, and maternity and infant care.

Making another appeal to the international community, Fletcher warned that "all could be in jeopardy" if funds for the hospital run out by the end of September.

The OCHA chief concluded his tour with a visit to a youth centre inaugurated in June of this year in the municipality of Delmas, with funding from UNICEF and the United States Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights (USIDHR).

The centre provides attention and vocational training to adolescents and youth from communities affected by armed violence, as well as those living in shelters in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, where access to education and training opportunities is extremely limited.

According to the UN, Haiti's gangs have gained "near-total control" of the capital, and authorities are unable to stop escalating violence across the impoverished Caribbean nation.