Unicef boss compares Haiti to scenes from Mad Max amid widespread chaos, hunger and poverty

Unicef’s executive director has compared scenes in Haiti to those in post-apocalyptic film franchise Mad Max, as gangs increasingly control the country’s capital.

A security and humanitarian crisis has unfolded in recent weeks, amid intense fighting and spiralling gang violence in the Caribbean country.

Catherine Russell, head of UN children’s agency Unicef, told US news outlet CBS it is “very difficult” to get aid to desperate civilians amid the “horrific” situation.

The agency has warned the ongoing unrest is causing record hunger and life-threatening malnutrition in parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

“I was [in Haiti] several months ago, there was so much violence, even then, and they were gangs who were controlling parts of the capital,” Ms Russell told CBS.

“Now they've basically taken over the capital, they've taken over the airport.

“What that means for people is that we can't get aid in again, it's very difficult for us to do that.

“Many, many people there are suffering from serious hunger and malnutrition and we're not able to get enough aid to them.

“It's like a scene out of Mad Max,” she added, alluding to the Australian film franchise well-known for its depictions of a lawless, post-apocalyptic dystopia. “Honestly, that's what it seems like,” she said.

“Gangs, vigilantes responding to the gangs. I mean, somehow we need to get more control over that situation so that we can get the humanitarian response in.”

She added that it has been “one thing after another” for Haitians, who have been hit by disasters including the 2010 earthquake that killed an estimated 220,000 people as well as public health crises including the devastating 2010 cholera outbreak, and the global Covid-19 pandemic.

“I think right now, it's the worst that anyone has seen in decades,” said Ms Russell.

Gunmen have burned police stations, closed the main international airports and raided Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

Many people have been killed, and more than 15,000 people are homeless after escaping neighbourhoods raided by gangs.

On Saturday, Unicef said one of its 17 aid containers at Haiti's main port, stocked with "essential items for maternal, neonatal and child survival” including resuscitators was looted, as gangs increasingly control the capital.

"Looting of supplies that are essential for life saving support for children must end immediately," said Bruno Maes, Unicef's Haiti representative, in a statement.

"This incident occurs at a critical moment when children need them the most."

Unicef warned three-quarters of women in the Port-au-Prince area do not have access to basic healthcare and nutrition.

Also in Port-au-Prince, some hospitals have been forced to close over safety concerns, and only two surgical operating facilities are operational, according to Unicef.

It added that shortages of electricity, fuel and medical supplies have affected hospitals nationwide, with six out of ten facilities not able to function.

The UK is warning against all travel to Haiti amid what the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) described as a “volatile security situation”.

There are no British consular officials in the country as embassy staff relocated to the neighbouring Dominican Republic in November 2019.

The FFCDO advised consular assistance from the embassy is “severely limited” and “cannot be delivered in person”.