Haiti strengthens its cooperation with UNICEF on child-focused priorities

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, His Excellency Mr. Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste, received in audience, this Monday, January 26, 2026, the UNICEF Representative in Haiti, Ms. Geeta Narayan, as part of the ongoing dialogue between the Haitian Government and partners of the United Nations system.

During this meeting, the UN Diplomat presented an overview of UNICEF's main achievements on the ground, particularly in schools, displaced persons' camps, and several departments of the country. These actions primarily focus on improving access to drinking water, strengthening sanitation infrastructure, and supporting education, in a context marked by increased population vulnerability.

Ms. Narayan also recalled UNICEF's specificity as an organization that articulates emergency humanitarian interventions with longer-term development actions. She placed particular emphasis on efforts made in child protection, a central pillar of the Organization's mandate in Haiti.

For his part, the Haitian Chancellor praised the constant commitment of United Nations system agencies alongside the Haitian people. However, he insisted on the importance of better harmonizing interventions with the priorities defined by the Government, an essential condition to ensure more coherent, effective, and sustainable action, particularly in favor of young girls and boys.

Taking the opportunity, the UNICEF Representative congratulated the Minister on the acquisition of the new premises for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, which she described as a strong symbol of institutional modernization and the strengthening of the Haitian diplomatic apparatus.

This meeting is part of the dynamic of consolidating the partnership between Haiti and UNICEF, serving a better coordinated response to humanitarian and development challenges, with children and youth at the heart of national priorities.

Gesly Sinvilier / Le Relief