US Ambassador to UN Announces $60 Million in Humanitarian Aid for Haiti

Photo: Odelyn Joseph U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, chats with Godfrey Otunga, Kenyan head of a UN-backed multinational police force, alongside Haitian Police Chief Normil Rameau at a welcome demonstration from Kenyan police at their base in Port-au-Prince Prince, Haiti, Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Published at 10:15 p.m.

• Americas

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations traveled to Haiti on Monday to meet with leaders of the new transitional government and Kenyan police, who are the vanguard of a U.N.-backed force intended to help the national police fight against the gangs and violence ravaging the country. At the same time, she announced an additional $60 million in humanitarian aid to the struggling Caribbean country.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the Department US Defense Force would provide a “substantial increase” in the number of armored vehicles to a UN-backed multinational security mission.

This announcement comes after approximately 200 Kenyan police officers landed in Haiti last week, doubling the size of the contingent whose first cohort arrived last month. The multinational force will eventually number 2,500 men from Kenya, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica. They will be deployed in phases at a cost of approximately US$600 million per year, according to the UN Security Council.

“We know that progress is not linear. There will inevitably be setbacks and obstacles, and yet this mission has opened the door to progress,” said Ms. Thomas-Greenfield.

She added that aid from the U.S. Agency for International Development, now totaling more than $165 million this fiscal year, would close gaps in nutrition, food security and shelter, improve services water and sanitation and would provide Haitians with cash to purchase basic necessities.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

The United States has provided more than US$300 million to the force, which Thomas-Greenfield helped establish through a UN resolution, a senior US administration official said on condition of anonymity before the visit. He added that the ambassador played a “central role” in securing international pledges of funding, equipment and logistical support.

“I “I have a feeling of hope,” says Linda Thomas-Greenfield

Earlier Monday, Ms. Thomas-Greenfield met with Kenyan police and leaders of the new transitional government Haiti as part of a one-day visit to encourage action on Haiti's humanitarian crisis and political reform, which was expected to lead to democratic elections that have not yet been scheduled.< /p>

“It’s not a naive hope, but I have a feeling of hope. It was a remarkable day in the field,” she commented.

Also read

• Haiti receives Kenyan police officers to ensure security
• In Haiti, the presidential transitional council appointed a prime minister
• Editorial | Mr. Conille on an impossible mission?

Gangs have gained power since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021, and are now estimated to control up to 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, in addition to being deployed in the surrounding areas. The increase in murders, rapes and kidnappings led to a violent uprising by civilian self-defense groups.

The new transitional government led by Prime Minister Garry Conille, a former United Nations development specialist who arrived in the country at the beginning of June, benefits from broad international support. Earlier this month, he told the UN Security Council that Kenyan police would be crucial to helping control the country's gangs and moving towards democratic elections.

According to United Nations agencies, the violence has displaced 580,000 people, more than half of whom are children, and placed four million people in a situation of food insecurity.

In a show of support for the United Nations mission in Haiti and the Kenyan police, Ms. Thomas-Greenfield will visit the police residential compound and meet with Mr. Conille, members of the presidential transition council and representatives of the UN and of civil society.

Haiti has called for the creation of an international force to fight gangs in 2022. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for months for one country to lead this force before the Kenyans came forward.

Kenyan police to train Haitian national police for joint security operations which have not yet started, said the manager.