Haiti GBV Surge, WHO Warning, and Youth Summit Hope

A mother and her child, displaced by gang violence, sleep on the bare floor of a school in Haiti.

Between January and September, more than 7,400 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) were reported in Haiti — an average of around 27 per day, according to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

“Sexual violence made up just over half of the cases — about 3,700 — and nearly two-thirds of these involved gang rape, around 2,500,” he added.

Alarming levels of GBV persist in Haiti, yet survivors and those at risk face severely limited access to essential support due to insecurity, logistical challenges and funding shortfalls, warned the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Funding shortfalls

Due to budget cuts, the UN and its partners were only able to reach seven per cent of the 833,000 people they aimed to assist, Mr Dujarric reported.

The response remains critically underfunded, with an overall gap of $13.5 million — 70 per cent of the more than $19 million required this year.

Despite these constraints, between January and February the UN and its partners scaled up life-saving services for those most affected, conducting more than 32,000 awareness sessions. Around 560 frontline workers also received training.

WHO warning over lack of support for survivors

Girls and women who survive gender-based violence worldwide are often being failed when they seek medical help — largely because systems are not in place to provide essential services — the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

A new report from the UN health agency’s European office found that nearly three in 10 women and girls over 15 will experience physical and/or sexual abuse across the region.

Health services “are often the first — and only — point of contact for survivors”, yet key forms of support are not being provided, particularly time-sensitive post-rape care and access to safe abortion, WHO said.

Among 53 European countries, only seven offer safe abortion services, the agency found.

Policies matter

WHO’s Melanie Hyde said that only 40 per cent of Member States in the European region have comprehensive provisions for sexual assault survivors set out in policy. “If it’s not in policy, then it’s not going to be at the frontline,” she stressed.

WHO is calling this a public health crisis with profound negative impacts on the mental and physical health of survivors, as well as on families and society more broadly.

Youth Activists Summit celebrates hope over hate

Finally, some welcome good news from a youth summit in Geneva on Thursday, where activists shared powerful stories of change that have helped tens of thousands of people worldwide.

Among them was Marina El Khawand, who created a global platform for distributing surplus medicines. She took action after the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion, when she struggled to find life-saving prescription drugs for an elderly survivor.

A Good Samaritan moment

Her breakthrough came after she appealed for help on social media. Within hours, a stranger donated 12 boxes of medicine — the spark that led to the creation of her online platform, Medonations.

“When I held the first box, she cried because she saw her basic right to health — her medication — being restored. It was the happiest and the saddest moment,” Marina told UN News.

Young changemakers

Marina shared the stage with four other young activists from Brazil, Ivory Coast, India and Japan, each presenting their own solutions to global challenges.

Representing the UN, communications chief Melissa Fleming urged the young audience — and those watching online — to turn social media noise and negativity into action, creativity and hope.

“Movements don’t start with institutions; they start with individuals,” she said, encouraging everyone to log their actions on the UN ActNow Campaign app, already used by 28 million people around the world.