UNICEF representative visits Port-au-Prince classroom at start of school year

Port‑au‑Prince, Haiti – At the opening of the new school year, UNICEF Representative in Haiti Geetanjali Narayan entered a classroom in the capital and posed a straightforward question to the students: “What do you most need from the United Nations children’s agency?” The inquiry, made as part of UNICEF’s ongoing effort to align its programs with the priorities of the children it serves, marked the agency’s first direct engagement with pupils in a public school setting since the country’s education system began to recover from a series of natural disasters, health crises and political disruptions.

Narayan’s outreach comes amid a broader UNICEF initiative to assess gaps in school infrastructure, learning materials, nutrition and psychosocial support across Haiti’s fragile education sector. By gathering first‑hand responses from children, the agency aims to refine its resource allocation, ensuring that interventions such as provision of textbooks, safe classroom environments and health services directly address the most pressing needs expressed by students. The feedback collected will inform UNICEF’s upcoming plans for the 2024‑2025 school year, reinforcing its commitment to improving educational outcomes for Haitian children.