UNITED NATIONS (CMC) – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says nearly three million children need humanitarian support in Haiti, where they face staggering levels of violence that have exacerbated hunger and malnutrition in a country already mired in poverty and a resurgence of deadly cholera.

“Being a child in Haiti today is harsher and more dangerous than it ever has been in living memory,” said UNICEF Haiti Representative Bruno Maes.

“The threats and hardships children face are simply unimaginable. They desperately need protection and support,” Maes added

UNICEF said that children find themselves in the crossfire, or directly targeted, as armed groups terrorise the population in their fight for territory and control, mainly in the capital Port-au-Prince, and increasingly in the neighbouring Artibonite region.

UNICEF also said that children are being killed or injured on their way to school, while women and girls face extreme sexual violence. It said kidnappings for ransom have skyrocketed, as have attacks on schools, and that tens of thousands have been displaced by the violence.

At the same time, UNICEF said hunger and life-threatening malnutrition are at record levels across the French-speaking Caribbean country, concentrated in the capital’s poorest and most insecure neighbourhoods, where some families are essentially trapped and cut off from essential services.

The UN agency said the number of children suffering from life-threatening malnutrition shot up by 30 per cent since last year, adding that nearly one in four suffers from chronic malnutrition.

In addition, it said violence, poverty and despair are driving children towards armed groups, with many children and young people in Port-au-Prince saying that they are being forced to join armed groups for protection, or because it means food and income for the family.

Some children say that joining armed groups provides “a sense of identity and belonging” and UNICEF said in addition to the violence, hunger and diseases such as cholera, Haiti faces the “constant threat of violent storms and earthquakes”.

UNICEF noted that, in early June, heavy rains, which coincided with the start of the hurricane season, caused destructive and deadly flooding. It was followed by a deadly earthquake just days later in Grand Ans.

UNICEF said nearly three million children are in need in Haiti this year, the highest number on record, but that funding falls far short of the humanitarian needs. It added that its US$246 million funding requirement for Haiti this year is less than 15 per cent funded.

However, UNICEF said it is “scaling up” its operations and expanding its presence in the field, despite the limited funding.

Together with partners, the agency said it was delivering lifesaving support.

“Despite the massive challenges, humanitarian support has helped stave off catastrophic hunger and malnutrition,” Maes said, adding “but far more is needed”.

“The international community cannot turn its back on Haiti’s children in their hour of most profound need,” Maes urged.