200,000 children deprived of right to education in Haiti: UN

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The UN on Thursday reported that approximately 200,000 children are deprived of their right to education in Haiti, where state institutions are close to collapse.

In a written statement, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) strongly condemned the attack on a school in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, by armed groups.

Saying that approximately 1,000 children attending the school in Port-au-Prince will be unable to receive education due to the attack, UNICEF called for an end to the violence in Haiti.

"As of the end of January, a total of 900 schools had temporarily closed, depriving approximately 200,000 children of their right to education," noted the statement.

Haiti has been under siege internally since mid-2021 when gangs took over infrastructure and violent upheaval saw battles for turf. Medical help has evaporated and starvation looms as food supplies are almost non-existent.

A rampage by gangs March 18 targeted previously peaceful upscale neighborhoods in the country’s capital. At least a dozen people were killed.

Thousands have been killed in the conflict while hundreds of thousands have fled the country.

According to the UN, the number of people killed and injured due to gang violence significantly increased in 2023, 4,451 killed and 1,668 injured.

Separately, the number of victims skyrocketed in the first three months of 2024, 1,554 killed and 826 injured up to March 22.