The United Nations Population Fund announced that more than 4.9 million people in Haiti are currently in need of assistance, noting that “access to the few health centers and hospitals that are still in operation is risky, if not impossible.”

“Humanitarian needs are on the rise as fighting intensifies in the capital, where many essential services and medical facilities remain destroyed or damaged following last year’s earthquake,” the foundation said in a statement.

He added that “more than 4.9 million people currently need help, including about 1.3 million women of reproductive age, and the inability to receive the necessary medical care puts the lives of women and girls in particular at risk.”

The statement stated that “the Cité Soleil metropolitan area has a population of over 250,000 and has witnessed some of the fiercest fighting, with hundreds killed, wounded or missing.”

In turn, the representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Haiti, Seydou Kabore, confirmed the Fund’s commitment to strengthening health services and protection to save lives, noting that “there is an urgent need for safe access to health care providers and financing of services. “

Last month, the United Nations reported that hundreds of people have been killed and injured in armed clashes between rival gangs in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where the population is suffering from escalating gang violence and a high homicide rate. kidnappings and forced displacement as Haiti’s economy teeters on the brink of collapse and basic services fail.

The violence in Haiti prompted the UN Security Council to pass a resolution calling for a ban on the transfer of small arms to gangs in the country.