With a cholera epidemic in the city, political unrest, and escalating inflation, Haiti is undergoing a humanitarian catastrophe. The food, fuel, and water shortages are leading to catastrophic starvation. Much of the production has been curtailed due to gasoline shortages.?
Inflation in the country has reached its highest in a decade, leaving 40% of the population at the mercy of food aid to survive. Ms. Guarnieri, the World Food Program's (WFP) executive director, stated that food security might worsen this year. It would result in 1.3 million people being stuck in an emergency state as the crisis unfolds.
The condition is critical to the extent that even hospitals have closed or reduced regular functioning. It is because they're unable to operate diesel-based power stations, which are essential to maintain consistent energy due to the unreliability of the power system.
On the other hand, social strife is on the upswing, and anti-government demonstrations have even deteriorated into violence and robbery. Haitians claim an upsurge in gun conflicts in suburban neighborhoods, either between rival gangs or police.?
According to the United Nations (UN), the gangs use sexual assault against minors and the elderly to inspire terror in the local people. In another subsequent estimation by the UN, Haiti is experiencing a catastrophic famine, with over 4 million people facing severe food shortages.?
The country's government is appealing for foreign military aid.?
The current predicament was preceded by an armed gang's blockage of a vital petroleum plant in September. It later culminated in fuel and diesel shortages and the suspension of most modes of transportation, resulting in shortages of necessities such as clean water.?
The blockade is headed by the G9 gang alliance, which dominates territories within and surrounding the capital, Port-au-Prince. Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier, the group's commander, is a former police officer the US Treasury Department had sanctioned following his participation in a 2018 atrocity.
The group's commander and other gang leaders are seen as de facto officials in regions such as Cite Soleil, an impoverished seaside community with a recent surge in gang crime and violence. It was also the site of the first cholera cases documented in October.
The G9 set up checkpoints near the main entrance of the Varreux gasoline port to protest Prime Minister Ariel Henry's announcement that the government was lowering fuel subsidies. Barbecue, who claimed that rising gasoline prices would harm the Haitian people, appeared in an internet video outside the airport gate in October, pleading with Henry to resign.?
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has urged a fast response team to tackle the gangs and recover the terminal. The United States and Mexico jointly requested a military campaign led by an unnamed partner nation to secure peace.?
The Bahamas has expressed being forthright in its assistance to Haiti and has stated that it would send the military if asked to do so. On the contrary, many allies, like Canada and the United States, have committed to giving security assistance but have not volunteered to send troops, as most countries tend to be cautious about military participation.