US envoy to UN announces $81 million in aid for Haiti during visit
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(From left) Haitian Foreign Minister Dominique Dupuy, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Haitian PM Garry Conille and US Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols at the Villa d'Accueil in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, on July 22.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - The US envoy to the United Nations announced tens of millions of dollars in aid for Haiti during a visit, a month after the first contingent of Kenyan police arrived as part of an international security mission aimed at tackling gang violence.
The US$60 million (S$80.7 million) in humanitarian assistance announced by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield while in Haiti will support the country’s people and alleviate suffering caused by gang violence, according to a statement. It will fill critical gaps in nutrition, food security and shelter and improve water and sanitation services, among other support.
The US, through the Department of Defence, will provide a “significant number” of mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles to the international security mission. The State Department also intends to procure additional armoured vehicles to assist mission personnel, according to the statement.
Gang wars have displaced more than 578,000 Haitians, while nearly five million – almost half the population of 11.7 million – are facing acute hunger, with 1.6 million of those people at risk of starvation, the United Nations says.
Armed gangs, which now control most of the capital Port-au-Prince, have formed a broad alliance while carrying out widespread killings, ransom kidnappings and sexual violence. The UN has said that between January and August 2023, rape cases increased by 49 per cent compared with the same period in 2022.
Some 200 Kenyan police arrived in Haiti late in June as part of the long-delayed multinational security support mission to help national police fight the armed gangs. The full force is set to number over 2,500, but it remains unclear when additional members could arrive and funding has lagged far behind requirements.
The UN Security Council authorised the force in October 2023, a year after Haiti’s previous government asked for help. The United States has provided some US$300 million for the mission, which is not a UN peacekeeping operation.
During her visit on July 22, Ms Thomas-Greenfield met the transition council and Prime Minister Garry Conille. She also toured the international security mission’s life support area, according to a pool reporter travelling with the ambassador.
The UN has appealed for US$674 million to help Haiti in 2024, but has received less than a quarter of that target.
At least 40 Haitian migrants were killed at sea after the boat they were travelling on caught fire on July 17, the International Organisation for Migration in Haiti said. REUTERS
