The United Nations has warned that efforts to address Haiti’s deepening political and economic turmoil, compounded by surging violence, remain grossly inadequate, with its response plan for the country receiving the lowest level of funding worldwide.
Speaking at a briefing on Tuesday, UN coordinator Ulrika Richardson said the organisation hopes to raise more than USD 900 million for Haiti this year.
However, the appeal is currently only 9.2 per cent funded. “We have tools, but the response from the international community is just not at par with the gravity on the ground,” Richardson said to the media persons.
The funding gap underscores fading international support for Haiti, where heavily armed gangs are fighting for control of territory and resources amid escalating political and economic instability.
By comparison, Richardson noted that a USD 2.63 billion appeal for Ukraine is 38 per cent funded, while a USD 4 billion appeal for the occupied Palestinian territories has reached 22 per cent of its target.
More than 1.3 million people have been displaced by violence in Haiti this year, and over 3,100 have been killed. Since the assassination of former president Jovenel Moise in July 2021, gangs with ties to influential political and economic figures have seized large parts of Port-au-Prince.
The UN has stressed that halting the flow of arms, largely smuggled from the US state of Florida, is critical to ending the bloodshed, alongside imposing sanctions on networks linked to the gangs. “Haiti can quickly spiral up again, but the violence needs to end,” Richardson said.
Despite repeated appeals, international initiatives have delivered limited results. Many Haitians remain sceptical, citing a history of damaging foreign interventions.
A UN-backed policing mission, led primarily by Kenyan officers, has so far failed to restore order or dismantle the gangs. Earlier this month, Haiti’s government declared a three-month state of emergency across the West, Centre and Artibonite departments.
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