WEB DESK
Ulrika Richardson, UN humanitarian chief in Haiti has said that close to 60 percent of the capital is dominated by gangs whose violence and sexual attacks have caused thousands to flee their homes.
At news conference, she said that gangs are using “very terrifying levels of sexual violence as a weapon” to instill fear and punishment.
She said that nearly 20,000 people have left the capital Port-au-Prince facing “catastrophic famine-like conditions” as a cholera outbreak spreads throughout Haiti. Richardson painted a grim picture of a country in a downward spiral, with half its population in urgent need of food assistance. Haiti has a population of nearly one crore 13 lakhs.
Richardson said insecurity has led to “massive displacement,” especially in the capital, where 155,000 people have fled their homes.
She said that in mid-November, the UN launched an emergency appeal for 145 million US dollars to respond to Haiti’s cholera outbreak and rising hunger, but so far it has received just 23.5 million dollars.
Richardson said the UN will be appealing for 719 million US dollars for Haiti for 2023, double the amount this year, because of the dramatic deterioration of the humanitarian situation.