UN MISSION TRAVELS TO NORTHERN HAITI, FINDS SERIOUS FUEL SHORTAGES DISRUPTING LIFE

UN MISSION TRAVELS TO NORTHERN HAITI, FINDS

SERIOUS FUEL SHORTAGES DISRUPTING LIFE

PORT-AU-PRINCE, 24 February (OCHA) -- Serious shortages of fuel are badly affecting every day life in north and north-west Haiti.  This was one conclusion of the recent inter-agency mission that travelled to the cities of Port-de-Paix and Cap Haitien on 19 February.  Cap Haitien was taken over by rebel forces on 22 February.

In Port-de-Paix, a city of over 120,000 people, the mission found that the population was living in fear and that school attendance had declined.  Prices of some goods have more than doubled recently due to insecurity and lack of fuel.  Fuel depots are out of stock, which is affecting transport, water supply, electricity, communications, and the health sector.  The mission said that the availability of potable water could reach a critical stage very soon.  Severe malnutrition is on the increase.  Due to the lack of electricity, hospitals have no functioning laboratories or surgical theatres.  The mission also said that there was reportedly displacement to Port-de-Paix from Gonaives, but no specific data is available.

The mission to Cap Haitien also noted a lack of fuel and essential medicines and price increases.  In the city, fewer children are attending school, and in some rural areas, children have reportedly been out of school since the beginning of the year.  Hospital visits have declined by 40 per cent due to a combination of high transport costs and lack of cash. Cap Haitien is home to some 186,000 people.

The mission recommended the provision of medicines, surgical kits, and fuel.  There is also a need for specialized mobile teams to provide urgent assistance to the health sector.  It also recommended increasing food stocks and continuing existing food distributions, especially in schools.  However, this is complicated by the looting of 800 tonnes of food from the UN World Food Programme warehouse in Cap Haitien on 23 February.

Security permitting, the United Nations will undertake similar assessment missions to other towns at risk.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA New York, tel: (917) 367-5126, mobile: (917) 892-1679; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel: 41 22 917 2653, mobile: 41(0) 79 473 4570.

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