UNITED NATIONS, United States, April 18, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - More than one million children in Haiti are suffering "critical" food shortages as a result of chronic violence, displacement and restricted access to humanitarian aid, the UN children's agency said Thursday.

"We are looking at a scenario where parents can no longer provide care and nutrition to their children as a result of ongoing violence, extreme poverty, and a persistent economic crisis," UNICEF's representative in Haiti, Geeta Narayan, said in a statement.

Across most of Haiti, armed violence is causing a "nutrition crisis for families," the agency said.

Since the start of 2025, "UNICEF and its partners have treated over 4,600 children with severe acute malnutrition" which was "only 3.6 percent of the 129,000 children projected to need life-saving treatment this year," the body added.

According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) used by international aid bodies, about 2.9 million children "are facing consistently high levels of food insecurity across the country" -- or around one in four in Haiti.

Violence is also increasingly cutting off access to health care, including life-saving treatments, "putting children at greater risk of various forms of malnutrition and preventable disease," UNICEF said.

In Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, less than half of health facilities are in full operation, with two of the three main public hospitals "out of commission."

"Just as needs intensify, the response is increasingly constrained by funding shortfalls," UNICEF highlighted.

Its nutrition scheme is part of a Humanitarian Action for Children appeal that is short of 70 percent of needed funds.