Haiti Humanitarian Fund allocates $75 million for 507 000 people hit by violence and displacement

The Haiti Humanitarian Fund has allocated an additional $75 million to meet urgent needs caused by violence and displacement in Haiti, the UN News service and the Secretary-General's spokesperson's office reported. The fund is managed by the United Nations. The UN is therefore a party to this story: it runs the fund and reports on its own spending.

According to UN News, the money will support 10 projects in 28 priority communes in the Ouest, Centre and Artibonite departments. It is meant to bring emergency aid to 507 000 people. The Secretary-General's spokesperson's office described the aid as clean water, healthcare and shelter. UN News also lists food, treatment for children with acute malnutrition and support for people with disabilities. It says survivors of sexual violence will receive medical care and psychosocial support, and that the projects will strengthen protection for women and children at risk of abuse and exploitation.

The allocation includes 4,5 million dollars for a rapid response mechanism. UN News says this will let partners react to sudden violence, displacement or other shocks.

UN News reports that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA, manages the fund. It says every dollar is directed according to three criteria: needs, security risks and access conditions. OCHA also plans safeguards so that aid arrives safely, follows humanitarian principles and does no harm to the people it is meant to help.

Three consortiums of Haitian national and local non-governmental organizations will receive part of the money directly. UN News says this follows global commitments to locally led response. It says these groups work on the front line, where armed violence blocks humanitarian access, and that their role in running the response will grow. One consortium is led by a coalition in which women direct the protection work.

Nicole Kouassi, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, said the contribution will help sustain the response and protect hard-won gains for millions of Haitians facing hunger, displacement and collapsing services. She also said that placing national and local partners at the centre builds a more lasting humanitarian system for Haiti.

UN News gave these figures for the wider crisis, without saying how they were counted: 6,4 million people in Haiti need humanitarian aid, and nearly 6 million face acute food insecurity. Violence has displaced nearly 1,5 million people, half of them in the last eighteen months.

The fund is financed by donors. UN News says it has received 203 million dollars in contributions this year. That includes 125 million dollars from the United States in March and a further 75 million dollars in September. Ms Kouassi thanked the United States on behalf of the humanitarian community for the additional contribution. UN News does not say whether the September contribution and the new $75 million allocation are linked.

Since January, the fund has allocated 203,6 million dollars to the 2026 humanitarian needs and response plan for Haiti. UN News says the plan asks for 880 million dollars and is 49 % funded. It says the United Nations is calling on donors to increase their support.

The sources do not name the organizations that will carry out the 10 projects, give a timetable for payments, or say how the 507 000 figure was counted.