NEW YORK — Humanitarian workers supporting relief efforts in Haiti following the devastation caused by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, are contending with widespread insecurity, including gang violence, as well as logistical challenges, as they try to reach hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people.

The earthquake in August came as the country was already reeling from years of underdevelopment and a political crisis, stemming from the assassination in early July, of President Jovenel Moïse.

Some 4.4 million people, nearly 40 percent of the population, are facing acute food insecurity according to the UN humanitarian affairs agency, OCHA.

However, funding is urgently needed, and the UN has launched an appeal for $187.3 million, to help people to start rebuilding their lives. — UN News