UNICEF warns of escalating crisis for children in Haiti

UNICEF has issued a stark warning about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Haiti, where violence and displacement are pushing hundreds of thousands of children to the brink of survival.

Speaking in Port-au-Prince, Roberto Benes, UNICEF’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, said the situation has become catastrophic.

Roberto Benes: “We are launching today a Child Alert on the humanitarian situation of children in Haiti, and we don’t use this term easily. Today, we have 680,000 children in a displaced situation, in camps, in situations that are barely impossible to survive.”

According to the new UNICEF report, the number of displaced children has nearly doubled this year amid a surge in gang violence that has forced 1.3 million people from their homes. Many are sheltering in overcrowded camps with limited access to food, water, or education.

Benes warned that the world’s attention is drifting away from Haiti, even as the crisis deepens.

Roberto Benes: “This is concerning, and we see increases of violence affecting children. All this combined with the risk of Haiti disappearing from global attention. This is why UNICEF is appealing: do not forget Haiti, do not forget an entire generation of children and young people.”

UNICEF reports that more than 3.3 million children now need urgent humanitarian assistance, as schools close and hunger spreads across the country.