The statements of the UNICEF representative come as dozens of armed policemen attacked Thursday the private residence of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. | Photo: ntelemicro

Port-au-Prince, January 30 (RHC)-- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that 2.6 million children and adolescents in Haiti will need immediate humanitarian aid this year 2023 due to the severe crisis that the Caribbean country is going through.

The director for Latin America and the Caribbean of UNICEF, Garry Conille, who visited the country, acknowledged that Haiti is experiencing a spiral of social unrest, insecurity, instability and poverty.

The declarations of the UNICEF representative came as dozens of armed policemen attacked Thursday the private residence of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was not in the country.

The uniformed officers rejected the lack of action by the authorities in the face of the assassinations of police officers by armed gangs.   During the mobilization, which was joined by sympathizers and activists, they attacked the official residence and the private residence of the Prime Minister who returned from the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States held in Argentina.

Schools, stores, embassies and even public institutions remained closed in Haiti, a country that experienced the day before a convulsive day of protests due to the murder of several policemen.

After what happened, Henry announced for this weekend a meeting with the Superior Council of the National Police and a council of ministers "to take all necessary measures so that these acts are not repeated.

Armed gangs control a large part of Port-au-Prince and its surroundings, spreading terror, forcing the population to abandon their homes and flee.

The number of Haitian children in need of humanitarian assistance increased by half a million in the last 2 years as increased armed violence, a cholera outbreak, food insecurity and inflation restricted their access to basic services, according to UNICEF.

"This is one of the most difficult times to be a child or adolescent in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake, and the situation is getting worse by the day," Conille said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday approved the disbursement of $105 million to combat food shortages in Haiti, a country mired in a severe political, economic, security and health crisis, the financial body said.

With more than half of the population already below the poverty line and a cholera outbreak, the country is facing a severe humanitarian crisis, with a projected financing gap in fiscal year 2023 of at least $105 million, equivalent to 0.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).