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STORY: UN / HAITI UPDATE
TRT: 03:10
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WFP FOOTAGE ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 14 JANUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, United Nations headquarters
14 JANUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, spokesperson at the dais
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Just to flag some, frankly, eye-popping numbers in Haiti, the International Organization for Migration is telling us that more than a million people are now internally displaced in the country. Half of those displaced are children, that’s what IOM data is saying. To give you a better sense of how much the situation has deteriorated, in December 2023 – so just over a year ago, 315,000 men, women and children were displaced. There are now three times more people uprooted in Haiti, including many who have been displaced multiple times. In the capital alone, displacement has nearly doubled - rising by 87 percent. As you can imagine, the majority of those displaced originate from Port-au-Prince and its surrounding areas. Many are seeking refuge in Haiti’s provinces, overwhelming host communities and straining limited resources that exist there. In the capital, IOM reports there are now 108 displacement sites, which are severely overcrowded and lack adequate access to essential services such as food, clean water, sanitation, and education. Compounding this crisis, 200,000 Haitians were deported back to Haiti last year. Floods in November and December last year also impacted more than 315,000 people across the country. Despite these challenges, we and our partners continue to respond.”
WFP - 28 NOVEMBER 2024, BAS DELMAS NEIGHBORHOOD OF PORT-AU-PRINCE
4. Various shots, WFP food distribution
WFP and partners are wrapping up a large-scale distribution of food rations to more than 146,000 people in various neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince including in areas which have been besieged by armed groups.
14 JANUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The World Food Program assisted 1.7 million people across Haiti in 2024 with all sorts of support. IOM today reported that they provided access to 18 million liters of clean water to uprooted people in camps. They also rehabilitated water pumps in local communities. However, much more is required to meet the needs in Haiti. In 2025, we and our partners will need 900 million dollars to support four million people.”
WFP - 20 NOVEMBER 2024, CROIX-DES-BOUQUET NEIGHBOURHOOD OF PORT-AU-PRINCE
6. Various shots, WFP Food Distribution
In November, WFP regained access to Croix-des-Bouquets in the north of the capital, which was previously off-limits to humanitarian workers due to violence associated with armed groups. Thanks to this breakthrough WFP has now delivered rice, beans, and oil to 50,000 people there, as part of a large-scale distribution in multiple neighborhoods reaching nearly 150,000 people.
14 JANUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Deporting Haitians back to a country, that is in the situation that it is, where the basic services are almost non-existent, where violence is rampant, is not a direction that country should go in.”
8. Wide shot, end of press briefing
“Eye-popping numbers” from Haiti reveal that more than a million people are now internally displaced, a UN spokesperson commented on the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Caribbean nation.
The situation in Haiti has deteriorated sharply over the past year, with the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) tripling since December 2023. Of the more than one million displaced, half are children. “In the capital alone, displacement has nearly doubled – rising by 87 percent,” Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters today (14 Jan) in New York City.
The majority of those displaced originate from Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, with many fleeing to Haiti’s provinces, straining already limited resources in host communities. The capital now hosts 108 displacement sites, many of which lack basic necessities such as food, clean water, sanitation, and education.
Adding to the strain, “200,000 Haitians were deported back to Haiti last year,” Dujarric said, underscoring the challenges faced by returnees in a country grappling with rampant violence and collapsing infrastructure. He urged nations to reconsider deportations.
“Deporting Haitians back to a country, that is in the situation that it is, where the basic services are almost non-existent, where violence is rampant, is not a direction that country should go in,” he said.
Flooding in late 2024 further compounded the crisis, impacting more than 315,000 people nationwide. Despite these challenges, international organizations are ramping up their response.
The World Food Programme (WFP) provided food assistance to 1.7 million Haitians in 2024, including delivering rice, beans, and oil to 50,000 residents of Croix-des-Bouquets, a previously inaccessible neighborhood due to armed violence. Large-scale food distributions have also reached 150,000 people in Port-au-Prince.
Additionally, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) delivered 18 million liters of clean water to displaced people in camps and rehabilitated water pumps in local communities. However, resources are stretched thin. “Much more is required to meet the needs in Haiti,” Dujarric said. “In 2025, we and our partners will need 900 million dollars to support four million people,” he added.
