Port-au-Prince, October 26, 2025.- While tropical storm Melissa threatens southwestern Haiti with heavy rains and violent winds, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has launched its emergency plan to protect the most vulnerable children and families. The organization has already prepositioned essential supplies, activated its coordination mechanisms and launched early actions to limit humanitarian impacts in an already fragile country.
In anticipation of Hurricane Melissa, UNICEF Haiti has intensified its emergency operations. In coordination with the Directorate-General for Civil Protection (DGPC) and its humanitarian partners, the United Nations agency mobilized its teams and activated its rapid response system in the departments of the South, Nippes and Grand-Anse, the most exposed areas.
As part of this response, 2,900 hygiene kits were prepositioned for approximately 14,500 people, and more than 100 health centres were supplied with nutritional supplies to prevent acute malnutrition among children. Emergency medical kits and equipment against water-borne diseases, including cholera, are ready for deployment by the Ministry of Public Health and Population with UNICEF support.
Socially, the organization plans to provide direct financial assistance to 8,000 vulnerable households, in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP). Each family will receive an emergency transfer totalling $192, of which $92 will be supported by UNICEF, to enable them to meet their basic needs in critical days.
UNICEF has also activated its emergency communication plan, disseminating over 83,000 prevention messages via SMS and WhatsApp, to raise awareness of the risks of flooding, landslides and safety instructions.
Particularly concerned about the plight of children living in camps for internally displaced persons and coastal areas, the organization is concerned about increased health and nutritional risks. These children, already facing precarious living conditions, could be the first victims of the storm. UNICEF stresses the need for rapid international solidarity to strengthen local response capacities and protect the youngest.
Through an allocation from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) of $1.2 million, UNICEF continues its efforts to save lives, ensure access to safe drinking water and health, and preserve the dignity of Haitian families in this new period of crisis.
W.A.
