UN / HAITI HUMANITARIAN SITUATION

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17-Mar-2023 00:02:38
UN officials and partners addressed reporters today after having concluded a two-day visit to Haiti to raise awareness of the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the country and assess how humanitarian agencies can expand their operations. UNIFEED

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STORY: UN / HAITI HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
TRT: 02:38
SOURCE: UNIFEED
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LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 17 MARCH 2023, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT

SHOTLIST:

RECENT – NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters

17 MARCH 2023, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, speakers at dais, press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Tareq Talahma, Acting Director, Operations and Advocacy Division, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“Almost half of the population are facing food insecurity, but also 5 percent of the children in the country are really in a severe malnutrition situation which is actually overly concerning.”
4. Wide shot, speakers at dais, press briefing room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Tareq Talahma, Acting Director, Operations and Advocacy Division, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“I think the solution in Haiti is not per se humanitarian. I mean, the humanitarian community is dealing with some of the symptoms. The people in Haiti need three things: they need peace, security, and protection.”
6. Wide shot, speakers at dais, press briefing room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Tareq Talahma, Acting Director, Operations and Advocacy Division, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“I'm talking about access with the population to the basic services. The gangs and we are talking about more than 300 gangs, are involved in this in Haiti. They are really occupying schools and hospitals. They are waiting for kids outside of the schools to kidnap them.”
8. Wide shot, speakers at dais, press briefing room
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Osnat Lubrani, Acting Director, Head of Humanitarian Section, Geneva Office, UN Women:
“There is a general climate of fear, especially in Port-au-Prince, where in some areas, people really live like they are under siege.
10. Wide shot, speakers at dais, press briefing room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Osnat Lubrani, Acting Director, Head of Humanitarian Section, Geneva Office, UN Women:
“The new trend is that the kidnappers are entering people's houses and kidnapping them. The abuses against the population and especially women and children, this includes the recruitment of minors by gangs. We're now talking about child soldiers in Haiti that are being indoctrinated as early as 18 years old. The murders, the brutality, beheadings, and chopping and burning of bodies, and the attacks on women. I mean, I met, you know, the story of every woman, and rape is just catastrophic.”
12. Wide shot, speakers at dais, press briefing room
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Dominic MacSorley, Humanitarian Ambassador, Concern Worldwide:
“The reality is, Haiti is competing, as Tareq said, with many, many other crises. Let’s be realistic about this: Haiti will probably not get the level of funding it deserves. So, we're going to really work as effectively as we can to ensure that the funding does come in.”
14. Wide shot, speakers at dais, press briefing room
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Tareq Talahma, Acting Director, Operations and Advocacy Division, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“The humanitarian appeal this year is the largest since the earthquake, and that should give us a signal about how much the situation has deteriorated.”
16. Wide shot, speakers at dais, press briefing room

STORYLINE:
UN officials and partners addressed reporters today (17 Mar) after having concluded a two-day visit to Haiti to raise awareness of the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the country and assess how humanitarian agencies can expand their operations.

Tareq Talahma, Acting Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that 5.2 million people need humanitarian assistance in Haiti.

He continued, “Almost half of the population are facing food insecurity, but also 5 percent of the children in the country are really in a severe malnutrition situation which is actually overly concerning.”

Humanitarian operations alone cannot address the underlying causes of Haiti’s security, political, and development crisis.

The solution in Haiti is not per se humanitarian, Talahma explained, “the humanitarian community is dealing with some of the symptoms. The people in Haiti need three things: they need peace, security, and protection.”

People’s access to basic services is still severely limited in areas controlled or under the influence of gangs.

Talahma stressed that over 300 gangs “are really occupying schools and hospitals. They are waiting for kids outside of the schools to kidnap them.”

Osnat Lubrani, Acting Director and Head of the Humanitarian Section of the Geneva office of UN Women, said, “There is a general climate of fear, especially in Port-au-Prince, where in some areas people really live like they are under siege.”

She also said, “The new trend is that the kidnappers are entering people's houses and kidnapping them. The abuses against the population and especially women and children, include the recruitment of minors by gangs. We're now talking about child soldiers in Haiti that are being indoctrinated as early as 18 years old. The murders, the brutality, beheadings, and chopping and burning of bodies, and the attacks on women. I mean, I met, you know, the story of every woman, and rape is just catastrophic.”

UN and partners continue to engage with communities and to reach people in hard-to-reach areas.

Between October 2022 to January of this year, 97 emergency missions were conducted in these areas.

On funding, Dominic MacSorley, Concern Worldwide’s humanitarian ambassador, said, “The reality is, Haiti is competing, as Tareq said, with many, many other crises. Let’s be realistic about this: Haiti will probably not get the level of funding it deserves. So, we're going to really work as effectively as we can to ensure that the funding does come in.”

The 2023 Haiti appeal, calling for nearly $715 million to help more than 3 million people, is expected to be launched next month.

OCHA’s Tareq Talahma noted, “The humanitarian appeal this year is the largest since the earthquake, and that should give us a signal about how much the situation has deteriorated.”
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