The United Nations on Friday focused the humanitarian spotlight on problem-plagued Haiti, a victim of hunger, natural disasters and disease, terrifying gang rule and political instability.

The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held a high-level meeting on food insecurity in the Caribbean nation to mobilize support following recent floods and an earthquake.

"Decades of successive crises, including earthquakes, hurricanes, public health emergencies and political turmoil, have plagued Haiti. But for the sake of the millions of Haitians whose lives and well-being are at stake, we must respond not with fatigue or resignation, but with renewed commitment," said UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Catherine Russell.

With humanitarian needs in Haiti now even greater than after the 2010 earthquake, far more must be done to ensure that people have safe and sustainable access to essential services in their communities. This requires timely, flexible funding to support the UN humanitarian response plan for Haiti. The plan, which requests $720 million, is less than 23 percent funded, she noted.

World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain, in a pre-recorded video message, said that almost half of the population in Haiti is facing acute hunger.

Both McCain and Russell plan to visit Haiti next week, underscoring the United Nations spotlighting the disaster-prone Caribbean nation. McCain said she would arrive on Saturday.

Ulrika Richardson, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, speaking from the capital of Port-au-Prince, welcomed the visits, saying Haiti needs global attention and solidarity.

Haiti is on the precipice of catastrophe. Half the population needs humanitarian assistance, including three million children. But half of those in need of assistance are not getting it – in large part because of insecurity and insufficient humanitarian funding, said Russell.

Two million people, including 1.6 million children and women, live in areas controlled by armed groups – their lives under constant threat from violence. Children are being killed on their way to school. Women and girls are being subjected to staggering levels of gender-based and sexual violence. Insecurity is also compromising the operations of humanitarian actors to meet the growing gap in the delivery of essential services, she said.

"This life-threatening mix of conditions has caused an intensifying food security and nutrition crisis, especially for children. Since last year, we have seen an unprecedented 30 percent increase in the number of children suffering from severe wasting to more than 115,000 across the country. Nearly a quarter of Haiti's children are chronically malnourished, which can have devastating consequences for their physical and cognitive development."

The malnutrition crisis coincides with an ongoing cholera outbreak, in which nearly half of the more than 46,000 suspected cases are children under the age of 14. Severely malnourished children are five times more likely to die from cholera without urgent treatment. Yet the national health system is on the verge of collapse and does not have the capacity to adequately respond to the health and nutrition needs of vulnerable children and families, she said.

Also speaking at Friday's event was Edem Wosornu, the director of operations and advocacy at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Addressing challenges linked to the delivery of humanitarian assistance, she said the aid community had assembled a humanitarian negotiation team to facilitate its ability to reach people in need. The team is working with many parts of the Haitian society for the sole purpose of helping negotiate with armed gangs to get to those most in need.

The time for action is long overdue. The Haitian people need an immediate scale-up in both regional and international support, which includes full funding for the humanitarian response plan, said Russell. "Together we can join the Haitian people to break the cycle of crises and begin building toward a more peaceful and hopeful future, for Haiti, and most importantly, for its children."

(With input from Xinhua)