Haiti's last-minute solution opens sky for critical UN aid missions
UN found way to restart its flights in Haiti after week-long pause due to security problems. Over 20k people left their homes in Port-au-Prince while gangs keep control over most city areas
The UNʼs food program fixed paper-work issues and plans to re-start its aid flights inside Haiti this week (after local gangs shot at planes about a month ago). The UN-managed service helps move workers and supplies between different parts of the country: helping both local and far-away aid groups
Armed groups still run most of Port-au-Prince — making it hard to help people. The cityʼs new leaders started using helicopters again on monday to move around‚ after Ariel Henry changed many top-jobs in his team
The situation in the capital looks rough:
- More than 20k people had to leave homes in just 4 days
- Only 20% of the city is safe for aid workers
- About half of those who had to move were kids
- Almost 700k people cant go back to their homes since early fall
Gregoire Goodstein from UNʼs moving-people office thinks its getting worse: “We cant reach most people who need help; without quick help from other countries things will get real bad“ The kids face many problems — they dont have food; cholera is spreading; and many see terrible things happen
