A UNICEF container filled with essential survival supplies for mothers, newborns and children was stolen in Haiti on Saturday, as gang violence continues to plunge the country into chaos.
One in 17 containers was looted at the port of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, UNICEF said. UNICEF said the items stolen included resuscitators and related equipment essential for early childhood development and education.
On Thursday, March 14, national police stood guard outside Haiti’s deserted national prison after a small fire broke out inside the facility in central Port-au-Prince. This is the same facility where hundreds of inmates escaped after an armed group attacked on March 2nd. (AP/Oderin Joseph)
Bruno Maes, UNICEF’s representative in Haiti, said in a statement: “Depriving children of essential medical supplies at a time when the health system is collapsing is a violation of children’s rights. “It happened at a critical moment when we needed it most.” “Looting of essential supplies for life-saving assistance to children must be stopped immediately and humanitarian access must be kept safe.”
Haiti has been in turmoil for weeks as gangs attacked major institutions and shut down the main international airport. The unrest has pushed many Haitians to the brink of starvation and left many more in increasingly desperate situations.
Gang wars over control of Haiti pose major risks to U.S. national security
The violence threw the Haitian government into chaos, with Prime Minister Ariel Henry promising to resign, a key demand from the gangs.
UNICEF said the violence was worsening children’s access to an already collapsed health system supported by UNICEF supplies.
Armed members of the G9 and Family gangs patrol a barricade in the Delmas 6 neighborhood on Monday, March 11, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (AP Photo/Oderin Joseph)
In Port-au-Prince, hospitals were destroyed and forced to close, leaving only two functional surgical facilities available. Only 4 out of 10 of his hospitals are functional across the country.
Also on Saturday, Guatemala’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the office of Haiti’s honorary consul had been ransacked, but did not provide details of the damage or theft or identify those responsible.
“Only papers and documents from the past four to five years were previously transferred” to the Guatemalan embassy in Haiti in the neighboring Dominican Republic, the ministry said.
The United States had increased security at the U.S. embassy and sent in troops to quell speculation that a senior U.S. government official might resign.
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Haiti’s main airport in Port-au-Prince remains closed following a gang attack, but the U.S. State Department announced it would offer limited charter flights to American citizens from the less disruptive northern city of Cap-Haitien. But he cautioned that U.S. citizens should only consider flying “if they believe they can safely arrive at Cap-Haitien Airport.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
