PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has announced an additional $60 million in humanitarian aid to conflict zones in Haiti. Haiti On Monday, he was visiting the troubled Caribbean nation.
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield also said the Pentagon would provide a “significant increase” in mine-resistant vehicles to the Kenya-led, U.N.-backed multinational security mission to help Haiti’s national police combat widespread gang violence.
This announcement was made Kenya’s second contingent A second wave of 200 police officers has arrived in Haiti, following the first wave of 200 officers sent last month.
“We know progress isn’t a straight line; there will be setbacks and obstacles, but this mission has opened the door to progress,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
He said USAID assistance, totaling more than $165 million this fiscal year, will fill gaps in nutrition, food security and housing, improve water and sanitation services, and provide Haitians with cash to purchase basic necessities.
Thomas-Greenfield met with Kenyan police and leaders of Haiti’s new transitional government early Monday as part of a day-long visit aimed at addressing Haiti’s humanitarian crisis and urging political reforms that could lead to democratic elections, which have yet to be scheduled.
“It’s not naive but we feel hopeful. It’s been a great day out there,” she said.
The new transitional government, led by the , has broad international support. Prime Minister Garry ConilleA former UN development expert, he took up the post in early June. Earlier this month, he told the UN Security Council that Kenyan police were essential to maintaining security. Gangs of the country We are moving towards democratic elections.
The gang July 7, 2021: President Jovenel Moïse assassinated They are now estimated to control up to 80 percent of the capital and surrounding areas. A sharp rise in murders, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent insurgency led by private vigilante groups.
According to UN agencies, the violence has displaced 580,000 people, more than half of them children, and left 4 million food insecure.
Haiti has called for the immediate deployment of foreign troops to fight gangs in late 2022, and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had been urging countries to lead troops for months before Kenya came forward.
The multinational force will eventually consist of 2,500 troops from Kenya, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica, deployed in stages and at a cost of about $600 million a year, according to the UN Security Council.
The United States has contributed more than $300 million to the force, whose creation was backed by a UN resolution.
Kenyan police will train Haitian national police for a joint security operation that has yet to begin, officials said.
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Associated Press writer Jade Lozada at the United Nations contributed to this report.
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