Kenya is likely to postpone the deployment of police officers to Haiti. Life expectancy has fallen more sharply due to Corona than previously assumed

From the perspective of the State Department in Nairobi, deployment as part of a planned multinational security mission will not be possible until Haiti has a government again, the New York Times and Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation reported on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the humanitarian emergency in Haiti continues to worsen, with the World Food Program (WFP) warning that the country is on the brink of a devastating hunger crisis.

Following talks in Jamaica, the Caribbean community of states Caricom announced on Monday (local time) the creation of a Haitian Transitional Presidential Council, which will determine a new interim government and pave the way for elections. Shortly afterwards, interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced that he would resign once the Council had chosen his successor.

Henry took over the reins of government shortly after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. Since then, there have been no elections and the country has neither a president nor a parliament. When Henry announced a massive increase in fuel prices in 2022, there were major protests and looting.

According to the United Nations, brutal gangs control about 80 percent of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. The two most powerful gangs joined forces in late February to demand Henry’s resignation while the head of the government was away on a trip abroad. To this day, he has not returned there – Henry is said to be currently in Puerto Rico. The trip took him to Kenya, where both countries agreed on March 1 to send 1,000 Kenyan police officers to Haiti. A Kenyan court had previously declared the operation unconstitutional.

The UN Security Council had already approved the mission to support the Haitian police in October. Kenya agreed to take the lead. Benin, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados and Chad also promised emergency services. During the CARICOM meeting in Kingston, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken increased the US financial assistance commitment for the mission by $100 million to $300 million (about 274 million euros). However, the US Congress has only released part of it so far. Only $10.8 million was received to finance the operation on Monday, according to a UN spokesman.

The spokesperson also said the plan to address humanitarian needs in Haiti, which requires $674 million, is only 2.6 percent funded. According to United Nations estimates, almost half of the country’s approximately eleven million inhabitants are suffering from acute hunger. Haiti is experiencing one of the worst food crises in the world, says Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP country director in Haiti. “1.4 million Haitians are one step away from famine.”

The UN organization fears that the already insufficient efforts to provide humanitarian aid could come to a standstill because the poor security situation hinders access to the population, but also because financial resources dry up. Welthungerhilfe also called on international donors to increase humanitarian funding for Haiti. (sda/dpa)