ECOSOC Special Meeting: Saving Lives: Addressing the Urgent Food Security Needs of Haiti - Remarks by Ms. Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 16 June 2023

As delivered

Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Excellency [Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the United Nations],

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honour and privilege to be with you here today and to add OCHA’s voice to this urgent call.

The people of Haiti are facing a devastating humanitarian and protection crisis.

Today, nearly half of all people in Haiti need humanitarian aid and protection. Two out of five people are going hungry. Fifty-one per cent of the 5.2 million people in need in Haiti are children.

Driving these trends are inflation, which currently stands at a staggering 49 per cent, gang violence, a drop in agricultural production and decreased access to food assistance. Additionally, lack of food is putting women and girls at increased risk, with many being forced to trade sex for food.

The 2023 humanitarian appeal for Haiti seeks $720 million to help more than 3 million people – over half the population. This plan is currently just over 20 per cent funded. Behind each number is a face. The faces of the children who urged us to help in this video.

Though the number of people we are trying to reach has not increased significantly from last year, our operating costs have gone up. This is due to insecurity, a challenging operating environment and difficulties reaching people, increased logistics costs and requirements related to duty of care for our staff, as well as general economic inflation. To give one example, transport costs have gone up as supplies need to be moved by helicopter instead of by road to the north and south, as roads remain blocked due to the control of armed gangs.

The humanitarian community has assembled a humanitarian negotiation team to facilitate our ability to urgently reach people in need. We also work with different stakeholders with influence – community leaders, priests and civil society, to name a few – for the sole purpose of helping us negotiate with armed gangs so we can reach those most in need.

With the support of the humanitarian community, OCHA has also launched a campaign to promote respect for humanitarian norms, so that people in need can safely access humanitarian assistance and basic services.

We know that we cannot wait for a political solution or better security conditions to do our work. To this end, the humanitarian community has activated what we call a Scale-up Declaration for countries in humanitarian crisis such as Haiti. This has enabled agencies to deploy urgent resources, including sending in our most experienced personnel and setting up systems to broaden our reach for more efficient and timely humanitarian action.

Distinguished colleagues,

We come to you today with three asks.

First, please mobilize your networks to push for a political and security solution to the crisis.

Secondly, please keep Haiti high on your agendas and advocate for others to do the same. Today is a testament to that. Your presence here demonstrates that commitment. We need you to be the biggest advocates for the people of Haiti.

Thirdly, please fund the humanitarian appeal generously so we can continue to save lives.

We must come together to help Haitians in their time of need.

Thank you.