UNICEF’s Aid Containers Looted in Haiti

Armed groups looted containers of national and international institutions in the main port of Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, according to reports this Sunday.

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Videos on social networks show hundreds of people looting dozens of containers, taking everything they found in their path in this port, located in a working-class neighborhood controlled by the armed group of Jimmy Cherizier, alias 'Barbecue'.

''UNICEF's container, containing crucial supplies for maternal, neonatal, and child health, was looted at Port-au-Prince's main port. This incident occurred at a critical moment when children needed them the most'', reported the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.

Bruno Maes, UNICEF Representative in Haiti, said that "depriving children of vital medical supplies at a time when the health system is collapsing is a violation of their rights," in a communiqué released by the UN foundation.

Maes added that the looting of essential supplies for child survival "must stop immediately and humanitarian access must remain safe," noting that the situation occurs "at a critical time, when children need them most."

In the statement, the official also refered to the closure of health centers for security reasons in Haiti, "a disastrous situation for children, because every closed health center means lives are in danger and essential medical care is denied."

"If the violence is not stopped and essential logistical channels are not reopened, the health crisis will get much worse. We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe and there is little time to reverse it," said the UNICEF official.