The Haitian government, through the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE), and the humanitarian community launched the US$674 million Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, to provide assistance to 3.6 million people in 2024.
Nearly half of the population is undernourished, making Haiti one of the countries with one of the most serious food crises in the world, says an OCHA press release, stressing that the spiral of violence has profoundly disrupted all socio-economic activities and the free movement of people and goods, affecting the capital Port-au-Prince in particular.
“Going to school, to the hospital or to the market, cultivating a field or getting drinking water has become an ordeal for millions of Haitians. To cross the threshold of one’s home is to risk being shot dead, kidnapped by armed gangs or subjected to unimaginable violence such as gang rape”, said Humanitarian Coordinator Ulrika Richardson.
“While we welcome the importance of humanitarian aid in saving lives and reducing suffering, we must recognize that it is not the solution. We must continue to invest in a determined and sustained way, and work together to find dignified and lasting solutions to the structural problems that hamper the daily lives of the Haitian people. Haiti needs solidarity at this crucial time”, said Ms. Richardson.
Haiti’s Minister of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE), Ricard Pierre, called for “a synergy of action between all international institutions and local organizations to enable a harmonious and lasting solution to the crisis, while stressing the need for all players to hold themselves to the principle of accountability.”
The MPCE holder encouraged all sectors of humanitarian action to stay the course in order to help the Haitian population emerge definitively from this catastrophic situation.