Violence Against Children In Haiti Increases By Almost 500% With Government Unable To Face Gangs

Violence against children in Haiti has increased by almost 500% over the past year, making it one of the most dangerous places in the world, according to a new UN report.

Concretely, the UN's Children in Armed Conflict report said the country is now as dangerous for children as Gaza, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Nigeria.

It claimed that the country's most powerful gang coalition, Viv Ansamn, is responsible for much of the increase, recounting widespread cases of killing and raping as they keep gaining ground across the capital, Port-au-Prince, and the rest of the country.

The report went on to say it has verified over 2,260 grave violations against 1,373 children in Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite region. including sexual violence, killings and attacks on schools and hospitals.

A UN official told the Miami Herald that figures are just the verified incidents, but they are likely much higher. "The UN has very little presence in there. The harbor doesn't work. The airport doesn't work. The border is closed," the official said.

"We simply cannot get the full impact of what is happening in Haiti, but we know it's horrific enough that it is already providing horrendous figures with the little information that we're able to get now," the official added.

Earlier this month, the World Food Program (WFP) said that Haiti is one of five countries in the world facing catastrophic levels of hunger, the others being Mali, South Sudan, Sudan and the Gaza Strip. It added that its supplies are "dwindling and disappearing," and there is not enough food to help people entering the state of emergency.

Overall, 5.7 million Haitians are experiencing severe hunger, and 2 million are already in an emergency face. 8,400 are directly facing starvation.

"This year, we start the hurricane season with an empty warehouse where we have no stocks for assisting any emergencies," said Lola Castro, who leads the WFP's Latin American and Caribbean office.

"We are very concerned that a single storm can put hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti into a humanitarian catastrophe and danger," Castro added.

The WFP added that its school feeding program is also in danger of facing reductions due to lack of funding. "We normally assist around half a million children every day, but those numbers will be reduced to half" if the situation continues down this path, Castro said.

The official went on to say there is no more funding on the horizon, especially as the UN grapples with less funding following the Trump administration's decision to withhold funding. The government reportedly asked Congress to take back tens of millions of dollars earmarked to the UN.