PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The Haitian government and the United Nations on Tuesday launched an urgent appeal for $100 million toward humanitarian aid for 2 million citizens threatened with famine, illness and natural disaster in 2013.
The aid would go to people whose lives are most in danger, Johan Peleman, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Haiti, told AFP.
According to Peleman, three years after the giant earthquake that struck the country killing 250,000 people, there are still spikes in malnutrition and the cholera epidemic.
The financial aid would help cover immediate needs for the rest of the year, notably for the most vulnerable 935,500 people who have not yet received assistance and who are at-risk of cholera or from the hurricane season.
A statement from the U.N. mission said the money was targeting 800,000 people in need of emergency food assistance, 120,000 displaced who are waiting to return home, 100,000 potential cholera victims, and at least 225,000 people who could be affected by the hurricane season.