Humanitarian Action for Children 2017: Haiti

This edition of UNICEF's Humanitarian Action for Children appeal covers 2017, issued in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, which struck Haiti in October 2016 on top of an existing three-year El Nino-induced drought, food insecurity and child protection concerns. The hurricane displaced 175,000 people to temporary shelters and left 806,000 people in dire need of life-saving multi-sectoral assistance. Cholera cases spiked, with 7,803 suspected cases between October and December 2016, and an estimated 48,000 children under 5 were projected to suffer severe acute malnutrition in 2017, including 18,000 in humanitarian-affected areas.

As of 31 October 2016, UNICEF had received USD 20 million against its USD 36.6 million appeal (55 percent funded). Within six weeks of the hurricane, UNICEF scaled up its cholera response teams from 5 to 36 and, together with the 2016 vaccination campaigns, reached at least 807,395 people, including 309,000 children aged 1 to 14. Nearly 294,000 people received safe water and 450,000 benefited from a complete WASH package. For 2017, UNICEF requests USD 42.4 million, more than triple the 2016 appeal, to scale up cholera surveillance and rapid response nationwide and in hurricane-affected areas, treat children suffering from severe and moderate acute malnutrition, assist vulnerable children including those repatriated or deported from the Dominican Republic, and restore basic health and nutrition services in affected regions.