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00:00Six months after pledging support to the Kenyan-led mission in Haiti, Jamaica is sending a first
00:05wave of troops. The Jamaican president announced that only 24 military and police personnel
00:10would land in Haiti on Thursday and lay the groundwork for further deployments.
00:15Haiti is the example of what could happen if states do not take the problem seriously
00:27and put in place the measures and resources necessary to bring the problem under control.
00:35In March, Jamaica formally pledged 200 personnel for the UN-backed mission, but the deployment
00:40has faced setbacks. It's led by Kenya, which so far has sent 400 police officers out of
00:46a total pledge of 1,000. Working with Haitian police, the Kenyan officers are working towards
00:51taking back key sites that have fallen under the control of gangs, including the airport
00:56and seaports. But almost three months into the mission, the security situation has little
01:01improved. Gangs are in control of 80% of the capital, with violence having spread to other
01:07areas across the country. The UN says more than 3,000 people have been killed from January
01:12to May, and the crisis has left more than half a million people homeless.
01:17Part of the problem is funding. The international mission is expected to cost around $600 million
01:22per year, but only $85 million have been pledged by countries so far. On a visit to Haiti last
01:28week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged other countries to provide more financial
01:33support and called for transitional authorities to move quickly towards democratic elections.