People flee the area of clashes in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 20, 2024. Photo: AFP/VNA

The World Food Program (WFP) on the same day warned that food insecurity in Haiti had reached an unprecedented level, when nearly 5 million people out of a total of 11.5 million people in the country were facing acute food insecurity, more than 1.6 million of whom are at emergency levels.

The Artibonite Valley, the country's food basket, was occupied by armed groups. WFP said humanitarian activities in Haiti are severely underfunded. The agency needs 95 million USD in the next six months to be able to maintain humanitarian programs. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned of the health and humanitarian situation in Port-au-Prince and did not rule out that the situation will worsen significantly in the coming weeks if fuel becomes scarce and access to essential medical supplies is unlikely to improve anytime soon.

More and more Haitians fleeing violence are being stopped by neighboring countries and sent back to their home. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) calls on countries to facilitate and avoid deportation of Haitians because these are people who may need international protection, especially groups facing high risk, as well as those who may be in need of international protection and who may be exposed to situations of serious harm resulting from the gang groups’ activities.