UNITED NATIONS (CMC) — Panama has told the United Nations (UN) Security Council that not providing the US$908 million required for the Haiti humanitarian response plan for 2025 “is literally the difference between life and death”.

Panama, which holds the presidency of the United Nation Security Council for August, said through its representative, Eloy Alfaro de Alba, that every figure is a story that can still have a different outcome.

“A recruited child that can go back to school, a girl who survives violence who can receive attention and justice, a baby with serious, acute malnutrition who can still recover if therapeutic milk reaches them in time, a displaced family that can live without fear,” he said during the council’s briefing on the humanitarian and child protection situation in Haiti.

He said that the US$908 million Haiti humanitarian response plan for 2025 is only 19.5 per cent funded and that “not closing this gap is not just a technical statistical matter; it is literally the difference between life and death”.

United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, had earlier indicated that Haiti remains shamefully overlooked and woefully underfunded.

“Less than 10 per cent of the US$908 million required to support 3.9 million people this year has been received — making Haiti the least funded humanitarian appeal in the world,” Guterres said.

The Panama representative urged child protection filters in all security measures and unhindered access for the United Nations monitoring team.

He also called on all parties to abide by the Safe Schools Declaration against the recruitment and use of children in the military, urgently finance nutrition, healthcare, restructuring of Haiti’s infrastructure, and protect teachers and safe learning, particularly in high-risk areas.

The executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell, told the briefing on Thursday that in 2024, Haiti ranked among the five countries on the children and armed conflict agenda with the highest number of verified grave violations against children anywhere in the world.

Last year, the United Nations in Haiti verified over 2,000 grave violations against children, up nearly 500 per cent from 2023.

“Most alarming” is the almost 700 per cent rise in verified cases of the rampant recruitment and use of children by armed groups, alongside a 54 per cent increase in killing and maiming, she said, stressing that “we believe the true figures are much higher” and adding that children are estimated to account for 50 per cent of active armed group members.

UNICEF and partners are being denied access to provide the humanitarian response that is so desperately needed, she said, calling on the council to “use all available leverage” to protect children and support concrete actions to prevent further violations.

“Every child deserves a chance to be safe, healthy and to live in peace. But peace can only be forged and sustained when children are prioritised and protected,” the senior UNICEF official said.