As violence in Haiti spikes, aid groups struggle to help

FILE – Haitians deported from the United States run back to the tarmac to try to get back on the same plane they traveled in, in an attempt to return to the United States, at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti Sept. 21, 2021. The country is struggling to cope with the recent arrival of more than 12,000 deported Haitians, the majority from the U.S. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn, File)

A spike in violence has deepened hunger and poverty in Haiti while hindering the very aid organizations combating those problems in a country whose government struggles to provide basic services.

Few relief workers are willing to speak on the record about the cuts — perhaps worried about drawing attention following the October kidnapping of 17 people from Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries — 12 of whom remain held hostage.

But several confirmed, without giving details, that they had sent some staff out of the country and have been forced to temporarily cut back aid operations.