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The Unit­ed Na­tions Chil­dren’s Fund (UNICEF) warned of a mas­sive surge in child armed group re­cruit­ment in Haiti, say­ing that the on­go­ing emer­gency in the French-speak­ing Caribbean coun­try is crush­ing chil­dren’s chances of an ed­u­ca­tion and a bet­ter fu­ture as scores of young­sters are re­cruit­ed by heav­i­ly armed and vi­o­lent gangs.

UNICEF’s rep­re­sen­ta­tive in Haiti, Gee­tan­jali Narayan, told re­porters that just last month, armed groups de­stroyed 47 schools in Haiti’s cap­i­tal Port-au-Prince, adding to the 284 schools de­stroyed in 2024.

“The re­lent­less at­tacks on ed­u­ca­tion are ac­cel­er­at­ing, leav­ing hun­dreds of thou­sands of chil­dren with­out a place to learn,” she said.