A container belonging to UNICEF has been looted in the main port of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, UN Children's Fund has reported.
"The looted container held essential items for maternal, neonatal, and child survival, including resuscitators and related equipment, as well as critical supplies for early childhood development and education, water equipment, and others," UNICEF said. The incident occurred early on Saturday.
UNICEF said armed groups breached the city's main port a week ago and seized control of more than 260 containers from aid organizations.
Haiti was edging towards collapse, with more than 260 containers owned by humanitarian organizations controlled by armed groups at the port, it said.
"Depriving children of vital medical care in the midst of a collapsing health system is a violation of their rights," Bruno Maes, UNICEF representative in Haiti, said.
"The looting of supplies that are essential to provide life-saving support to children must stop immediately and humanitarian access must be ensured," he added.
The Guatemalan Foreign Ministry reported that the office of its honorary consulate in Port-au-Prince had also been looted.
The crisis in Haiti has escalated in recent weeks. Armed gangs of the Caribbean state recently prevented the return of interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry from a trip abroad. Henry subsequently resigned.
In the absence of a functioning government, a presidential council representing various parties and social groups is to take over running the country temporarily.
According to a UN report, gangs currently control around 80% of Port-au-Prince.
There are around 362,000 displaced persons in the country, more than half of them children. Nearly half the population of around 11 million is reported to suffer from acute hunger.
