Violence and economic collapse in Haiti push women and girls to the brink
The UN agency singled out the situation of survivors of sexual violence and the nearly 85,000 women currently pregnant, some 30,000 of whom will give birth in the next three months amid the crisis sweeping the country.
With an economy on the brink of collapse and essential services collapsing, residents of Haiti's capital are caught in a chilling crossfire of escalating gang violence, with increasing reports of killings, kidnappings, rape and forced displacement.
Among the testimonies collected by the Fund is that of a pregnant woman who lost her husband and all her belongings when she fled her home during the fighting. She is now dependent on humanitarian aid to survive.
Other reports indicate the rape of women and nine-year-old girls by gang members seeking to incite terror and revenge against rival groups.
Haiti currently has the highest level of maternal mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Escalating fighting in the capital, coupled with the destruction of many essential services and health facilities following last year's earthquake in the south of the country, has led to a sharp increase in humanitarian needs: more than 4.9 million people are in need of assistance, including some 1.3 million women of childbearing age.
The Cité Soleil area in particular, one of the poorest in the Haitian capital and home to more than 250,000 people, was one of the most violently fought areas, with hundreds killed, wounded and missing.
Over the past few months, some 17,000 residents of the capital have been forced to flee their homes, taking refuge in makeshift camps or with relatives, as extreme instability worsens.
Fund staff on the ground are helping survivors of gender-based violence seek legal, psychosocial and medical assistance, distributing health supplies and solar lamps at displacement sites, and evacuating pregnant women with complications for emergency obstetric and neonatal care.
In addition, hundreds of feminine hygiene kits have been distributed in four centres for displaced people in the capital.
The agency plans to deploy eight mobile clinics that will work alongside local health centres to ensure sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls trapped in hard-to-reach areas.
It is also training community agents to raise awareness of the risks and protection measures against gender-based violence, as well as the health services and safe recovery spaces available to survivors.
Beyond the immediate response, safe access to health services and funds are urgently needed to prevent high levels of unwanted pregnancies and maternal deaths, as well as to protect women and girls from sexual violence.
The agency's representative in Haiti, Saidou Kabore, stressed that "no woman should die in childbirth. No woman should be a victim of rape or other forms of gender-based violence. UNFPA is committed to improving health and protection services and saving lives".
