One in Eight Children in Haiti Displaced.

Written by Jermaine magethe

There has been an increasing concern regarding the status of Haiti, and it can be summed up in one word: Crisis. The increase in violent confrontations has necessitated families, including children, to leave their homes. Among the over one million people displaced, the majority are under eighteen years of age. Additionally, the percentage of children that have recently been uprooted rose by over fifty percent from September 2024. Presently, one out of every eight kids in the country are without a home. To compound the condition, the children that are left behind are often conscripted into armed conflicts, which is a rise of almost seventy percent over the past year. Children face myriad challenges related to armed conflict, and the worst of them is sexual violence and abuse.

Haitian kids are currently deprived of essential needs like healthcare, clean water, and food. There are a countless number of people who are sick with rapid outbreak of cholera and other diseases. UNICEF has reported that three million kids in Haiti require urgent help. They are living under horrible circumstances. In just 2 weeks, 40,000 people had to leave their homes and nearly 6,000 are starving. UNICEF is trying to call attention to the need for a stop to violence so children can feel safe. From what UNICEF says, aid workers have to be allowed to reach children in need. “While these kids did not have a part in causing this catastrophe, they are bearing the effects of the catastrophe”. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Rusell.

In other news is Kenya has sent 217 additional police officers to Haiti to support an understaffed security mission. The officers were welcomed by Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime at Port-au-Prince airport and will join the 400 Kenyan officers deployed last year. This deployment is a significant step towards restoring peace, with Kenya playing an important role in the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) under the United Nations.

So far, troops from 10 countries, including Guatemala, El Salvador, Jamaica, and Belize, have pledged over 3,100 troops, though few have been deployed.