UN Transcripts — https://transcripts.un.org/en/asset/k14/k144dnharj Press Conference: The humanitarian situation in Haiti — 10 April 2026 Language: en Automatically generated transcript — may contain errors. Not an official United Nations record. --- UN Secretariat · Spokesperson · Stéphane Dujarric [0:00]: All right, good afternoon. Uh, we're delighted to be joined once again by our friend Edem Wosornu, who is the director of OCHA's Crisis Response Division, who's here to brief you on Haiti, but actually has the information that Edith asked about, uh, concerning Lebanon, which is the appeal which goes— go ahead. OCHA · Director of OCHA's Crisis Response Division · Edem Wosornu [0:18]: Right, thanks a lot, uh, Steph, and thank you and good to be here again. I'll put that on. Great. Um, for the Lebanon flash appeal, we're asking for $308 million for 1 million people on top of the existing appeal. Um, we're currently 22% funded. Um, we have $67 million, uh, provided thanks to our generosity— the generosity of our donors, and $39 million comes from the pooled fund and the Central Emergency Response Fund. So Edith, that was— I heard it in there and I thought I'd— I'd give Steph the— the update. UN Secretariat · Spokesperson · Stéphane Dujarric [0:53]: Thank you Edem. OCHA · Director of OCHA's Crisis Response Division · Edem Wosornu [0:54]: Please go ahead. Thank you. So thanks again for— for having me here this— this afternoon, um, for the opportunity to brief on— on Haiti. I was there 16 to 20 March. Um, um, I think we all know it, but maybe a few stark reminders of the situation in— in Haiti, facing one of the most severe and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crises in the Western Hemisphere. I would like— I'd like to stress that. 6.4 million people, over half the population of some 11.9 or 12 million people, now in need of humanitarian assistance. Um, 5.7 million people acutely food insecure in Haiti, with families skipping meals, children leaving school to help their households, and schools occupied by internally displaced people. So that's the first sort of stark, uh, perspective. We are asking for $880 million for 4.2 million people as the humanitarian community. Within that, 680 million for the hyper-prioritized plan, which will help some 3.3 million people. Let's not forget, um, um, dear— dear media, we only received 27% of what we asked for last year, Haiti. Now, of course, you— you hear us talk about it a lot, a protection crisis, a deepening protection crisis, uh, marked by insecurity, relentless violence, mass displacement, and shocking levels of gender-based violence. Um, I'll delve into what I saw and heard firsthand during my days on the ground. 1.45 million people displaced, um, that is 12% of the population, uh, significant. These are not abstract figures, as you know, you know this well, these represent families uprooted, families displaced, separated, children, um, many who've lost their homes, what they knew. You see, those of you who know Haiti, they take their schools— schooling very seriously. Amidst all of this, picture a motorbike with three or four kids riding, going to school, with bows in their hair and children dressed up to the nines going to school in a background that is quite shocking, civil protection a bit awry, filthy streets, but these children in— on their way to school. Very important and will never leave me. Um, humanitarian access remains of course challenged, really, really difficult to move around. I was in Port-au-Prince, Gonaïves, I was in Les Cayes, 2024 my Under-Secretary-General Tom Fletcher was there, 2025 and I visited again, um, as I said, 2026, situation has changed significantly. Amidst the devastation, and I'll get into it in a minute, I saw hope. The Haitians very, very determined to— to help each other. The Haitian community, remittances coming home, people trying. Haitians very clear, we do not want handouts, we want to rebuild our lives, we want the displacements to stop. Um, determination to hold on to dignity, that is always something that touches me, um, even as everything familiar slipping away, as I said, and I'll describe a few. But they were also clear within the resilience, there was exhaustion. People are really tired and this they told me when I was there two years ago and even more so now. Maybe Steph, if you allow me, key observations from my mission, um, what I saw, what I heard, what I took with me when I went home to Ghana on leave, what I was sharing with my— my family. Very, very tough. Violence in Port-au-Prince, 90% of Port-au-Prince under, uh, gang control, armed, uh, control. We had a— a conscription, uh, a— a constriction of— of everything. Can you imagine people moving to— to only 10% of what is— what is left to move to? So people on top of each other, very, very horrifying to see, escalating violence, new waves of killings, um, devastating reports that 80 people killed, I think, um, couple of weeks after a location in Centre that I— I visited, 13,000 in the last few days displaced. I met families, um, I went to many sites, what we call sites, locations where people are being hosted, displaced people being hosted. 2,800 in one school that usually hosts 400 children. Where I was walking is where people said we sleep here at night. They described at night vermin, roaches coming out, rashes on skin of children, people showing you things that they said in our homes we were fine and here we are displaced. The very ground I was walking on, the very place people were sleeping on, um, at night. 1,600 schools remain closed due to insecurity across the country, affecting a quarter of a million children in Haiti. As I described to you, those children in their bow— with their bows in their hair, the boys with their socks up ready to go school, school means a lot for the people of Haiti, so 1,600 schools closed, 2,000— 250,000 people, children missing education is a big, huge deal. The protect— the crisis is worsening, as I keep saying that, um, particularly horrendous for women and girls. I met, I will not mention her name for of course for privacy sake, but a 16-year-old girl with her three-month-old baby, a child holding a child, holding a baby, and she said I was displaced, I don't know where my parents are, I don't know where my siblings are, a man said I'll take care of you, he abused her and left her pregnant and she was in this site that I was in the school saying that she's going around asking for— for support from— from others. Um, a protection crisis. Last year, 8,100 survivors of gender-based violence, um, were recorded, 25% increase from the year before. Half of the reported cases involved rape. I spoke with some of the women, you can see, having done this for 20, almost 25 years, you can see when the glazed-over eyes, the trauma, and there were many women in the crowds, in the sites with that trauma on their face. One in six survivors under 18, and as I said I spoke to one of them. Only 30% have received any form of assistance within the 72 hours that is critical, and here it is not that humanitarians are not doing anything. Last year we received 5% of the funding needed for— for GBV. You hear this coming from our UNFPA colleagues, our UNICEF colleagues highlighting the need. The numbers reflect a deeply alarming situation that requires urgent attention, significantly scaled-up protection services. We are trying and I'll come to that in a minute. Beyond the capital I visited Centre, the center of the— the country, a place called Hinche, I met families in highly precarious conditions. Some have flee— uh, fled their homes overnight with nothing. I met a lawyer, a woman called Mamoune, very strong. She— she spoke up when we met women's groups, an entrepreneur who escaped, she said without my car I'd have been killed, she said she heard screams, run. She took her children, put them in a car and left everything she had built. A lawyer, an entrepreneur who needed nothing, once wanted nothing, here experiencing what thousands are experiencing in Haiti. I was also at the border with the Dominican Republic, a place called Ouanaminthe, where I saw, um, activity across the border, day workers going into— to neighboring, uh, Dominican Republic to work and, um, some of them had just returned in vulnerable conditions, IOM doing a phenomenal job there. I'd like to recognize of course as I always do the remarkable work of our humanitarian partners, um, the international and national staff alike, the leadership, our humanitarian coordinator and teams, country teams, the national staff of course, let me highlight that, most of them, many of them displaced themselves under threat, yet they continue to show extraordinary resilience, extraordinary commitment to our cause to assist people in need, excellent professionalism. They sometimes negotiate with the very armed actors that, um, we are talking about, um, delivering assistance in areas that are extremely difficult to reach. You've heard this in other contexts, you've heard us talk about this, but really wanted to salute our national, uh, partners, our local, uh, partners, our national staff as well. Last year, humanitarians reached 3 million people, uh, with life-saving assistance, significant achievement given the horrendous and difficult operating environment. The United Nations air service, UNHAS, is the reason I was able to get into Haiti, um, 2024 I flew into Port-au-Prince with international flight, 2025 our Under-Secretary flew in through the, um, a Chinook, a helicopter flying in through the UNHAS, uh, delivery. Um, we were able to get in through neighboring, uh, Dominican Republic, flown into Cap-Haïtien and then from Cap-Haïtien to— to Port-au-Prince. It's difficult, but the, um, UNHAS was brilliant, it's done a brilliant job, WFP in 2025 a lifeline, 24,000 passengers into the country and around the country, nine new locations, 200 humanitarian actors, and why is UNHAS so important? You saw in recently Under-Secretary-General put it out there, UNHAS getting some of the money from the US, uh, allocation, 9 million for Haiti. Let me conclude, key asks. The people of Haiti cannot wait. Number one, the violence must stop, insecurity, abhorrent, horrifying stories that we hear. Two, humanitarian organizations remain committed, we are there to save lives, to serve. Um, aid is collapsing of course, you've seen the ODA, uh, coming down with this, uh, 23% in 2025, you've seen some of the statistics, I can get into details if necessary. And then of course the third, we must be honest, humanitarian assistance alone cannot change the— the fate of the people of Haiti and the trajectory of Haiti. Political solutions, you know that, improved security, urgent, sustained investment in essential services can create solutions for the people. Haiti's courage undeniable, our support ever so necessary. Steph, I'll stop there. Thank you. UN Secretariat · Spokesperson · Stéphane Dujarric [11:30]: Thank you very much Edem. Edith and then Amélie. Associated Press · United Nations Correspondents Association · Edith Lederer [11:32]: Uh, thank you very much Ms. Wosornu on behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association for doing this briefing. My name is Edith Lederer from the Associated Press. Um, despite all the limited aid that's getting in, you said that 5.7 million Haitians remain acutely malnourished. Um, what does that mean in terms of, um, heading toward famine conditions? And, um, of the, um, 800 million plus that— that you've asked for for this year, how much has been received already? Thank you. OCHA · Director of OCHA's Crisis Response Division · Edem Wosornu [12:32]: Thanks a lot. So before we get to— to famine conditions, which is IPC 5 plus, we already have indicators that are worrisome. Um, we are concerned about the food insecurity, not, uh, you know, food insecurity of course our— our lingua is a bit specific, um, 51% of the population do not have the meals that they require— are required every day and the calories required. I'm not a— a food expert, but we're concerned certainly about what people— the food intake that people have, um, and it's not easy. Many people I spoke with rely, while they could have relied on their farms if there was safety and security, they are relying on our humanitarian, um, assistance to be able to feed themselves. A lot of them also asked for opportunities in terms of livelihoods. A lot of people want to do day laboring, uh, work so that they can feed their families. Um, so we're not in the famine, uh, thresholds yet, but we don't want to get there, so we sound the alarm at this early stage. Um, we've— I have to check the numbers on what exactly we have right now, I have a lot of figures in front of me. Um, we are 18.4% funded. We've received 162.4 million dollars, um, top donors US at 86.9, EU at 49 million, Central Emergency Response Fund at 23 million, France at almost 16 million, Canada 10.6 million, and Sweden 9.5 million. We're grateful for the early funding, we need more and of course we are at 18.4% this year, let's not forget I said last year we ended with 27%. So we're doing good and we keep mobilizing. Thanks a lot Edith for your interest in Haiti. UN Secretariat · Spokesperson · Stéphane Dujarric [14:24]: Amélie. AFP · Amélie Bottollier-Depois [14:25]: Thank you very much, Amélie Bottollier from AFP news agency. Uh, about the violence, the— the latest report, uh, about the toll and the— the different way violence is— is impacting the population showed, uh, in addition to the gang violence, a lot of people, more and more people killed, uh, in police operations, uh, with the the help of, uh, US security company. Uh, and— and now the— the number of people killed is almost as high, uh, in this kind of operation than— than— than in by the gangs. So do you have any information, details you can share about that and is— are people in Haiti worried about this new kind of violence that is adding to the violence of the gang themselves? Thank you. OCHA · Director of OCHA's Crisis Response Division · Edem Wosornu [15:21]: Thank you, I didn't get your name, AFP. Amélie, thank you. Thanks a lot. So let me— let me, two years ago when I was in Haiti, was very clear, insecurity, we need help, insecurity, we need help, we need help with the— with quelling the insecurity of— of the country. A lot has been done, I'm not going to get into the other, um, you know, other mandates in the UN, but what I can tell you is that the population were very clear, they didn't tell me about statistics related to that, they just said we want our country back and we want to go back home. And I think as humanitarians we are in these locations with the people, we are in, as I said, so far in two visits I've done six, seven locations, some pretty dangerous, and this is just me visiting from outside. My colleagues on the ground doing the best they can. Our— the good news is when I met the Minister of Defense, we were able to push messaging on allow humanitarians to do our work, allow humanitarians to negotiate access with whoever, allow humanitarians to get to the populations. There's a lot of statistics flying around, but if you allow me Amélie, I'll stay away from who's doing what. The key message is very clear, Haitians, civilians deserve a regular life, and if they had that life, by the way, they would not be seeking to get out. So I'll stop there. Thank you. UN Secretariat · Spokesperson · Stéphane Dujarric [16:41]: Thank you. Gabriel, then we'll go online to Jacqueline Charles. Al Jazeera · Gabriel Elizondo [16:42]: Thanks Ms. Wosornu, this is Gabriel Elizondo from Al Jazeera English. Hello, how are you? Uh, the 18.4% funded, the total amount is 880 million, correct? Okay. And what was the— what was the 308 million you mentioned earlier in your briefing? OCHA · Director of OCHA's Crisis Response Division · Edem Wosornu [17:46]: Lebanon. Al Jazeera · Gabriel Elizondo [17:47]: Lebanon, because it was— Edith had asked about Lebanon, so she gave— Got it. Okay, thank you, I missed that part. And my question is, I know as humanitarians, um, impartiality is paramount, of course. OCHA · Director of OCHA's Crisis Response Division · Edem Wosornu [17:58]: Yes. Al Jazeera · Gabriel Elizondo [17:59]: So my question is in the context of the GSF gang suppression force that is being deployed starting this month, I believe. Uh, my question is not directly about that force, but it's about your posture in relation to their work that could be happening in the coming weeks and months. Do you plan any sort of interaction or coordination on any level with them and has there any been any discussions at all? Thank you. OCHA · Director of OCHA's Crisis Response Division · Edem Wosornu [18:28]: Thanks Gabriel and good to see you, um, again, in different circumstances certainly today, and good to keep the briefings apart, but I was foc— trying to get the Lebanon point in as well, I heard it through the— the walls there. Um, absolutely impartiality, neutrality, independence of our work very key, but as we've done in several contexts, the Somalias, the— the DRCs, every time there's a mission, sometimes not a UN mission, we had the, um, AMISOM, AU mission in Somalia, I was there at the time, raging debates as to whether we should speak to them, because as humanitarians we're different. And we sat with them to discuss to ensure certainly that distinction that was required. We've come a long way, 20, um, 12 certainly my experience to 2026, we are doing the same thing, making sure that there's a distinction. We are— before it became the GSF, there was the MSS, we were briefing them on the importance of impartiality, neutrality, and independence of humanitarian action, we're briefing them on the need not to mix any quick impact projects with humanitarian projects and all— all that. The conversation is necessary, the distinction absolutely necessary. Now of course the population and the people we serve, we have to do a lot of work to ensure that we are not the same, it's a different force entirely. So yes, we are talking and yes, we are engaging, but no, we are not— we're making sure that it's clear that we are not, um, the same as it were. I hope that helps. Thank you. UN Secretariat · Spokesperson · Stéphane Dujarric [20:15]: Thank you. Uh, we'll go online, Jacqueline Charles. Jacqueline. Miami Herald · Jacqueline Charles [20:18]: Are you muted again, I think. Yep. There you go, go ahead. Okay, hi. Thank you for doing this. Um, you know, there's been a lot of foreign aid cuts, um, in the last year and I'm just wondering while you were there, do you have a sense of what the impact has been, um, in terms of like cuts from the US and others? And I understand that there may be some additional funding that has recently come, so just trying to get a sense in terms of the impact of— of that aid and— and the need, which is, I mean, huge. OCHA · Director of OCHA's Crisis Response Division · Edem Wosornu [20:35]: Thanks a lot, uh, Jacqueline and thanks for— for your work on Haiti as well. I, um, 100% across the globe, everywhere I've been, um, my boss has been everywhere humanitarian, um, colleagues travel, we see the impact of cuts for sure. For Haiti, as— as I said last year, we ended with 27% of the $908 million we're asking for. This year we're asking for the numbers I gave, we're asking for $880 million and we're already at 18, almost 20% of that funding ask. And here it's thanks to all the advocacy that you're doing, keeping Haiti in the limelight across the media, showing that the people of Haiti require humanitarian assistance. We are seeing that difference, ending the year 2025 with 27%, starting Q1 of 2026 at 20%. We're hopeful that the advocacy will continue. The US award, I think it's all there, we've received— No, go ahead. Uh, $125 million from the US as the award for Haiti. That has been significantly well appreciated. We've also, as I mentioned earlier, we've also seen that not just the US but EU, um, when I was there in 2024, the EU was I think at four and then they augmented to $17 million in 2024 because I remember because we were there with the EU. This year the EU is almost at 50 million. So there's a lot of advocacy being done across in different capitals that we're seeing a difference on the ground for the people of Haiti. However, we need 880 million, so we've— we've received 162, we're grateful, but we need more to sustain the humanitarian operations. The other difference between my last visit and now is you have a bit of a locked situation, the Haitian colleagues, international staff also there, describe it as being in a prison. Move— movement across borders is difficult, um, countries that were giving Haitians, um, free entry for a while have now stopped. I'm not getting into the politics of countries and why they've stopped, but this is a fact. And this we see a lot of constrain— uh, in the country and it's beginning to— you show— you see it. But the good news is humanitarian funding is not as dire as it was, but we need much, much, much, much more to sustain the operations. UN Secretariat · Spokesperson · Stéphane Dujarric [23:18]: Thanks, France. Thank you very much, Edem. Thank you, and we hope to see you back soon after another one of your travels. Great.