UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- UN humanitarians on Friday warned of alarming levels of gender-based violence in Haiti.

In the first seven months of this year, more than 6,200 incidents of gender-based violence were reported by service providers, with adult women being the most affected, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Nearly half of the incidents were rapes, with three-quarters reportedly committed by members of armed groups, said the office.

OCHA said displacement is amplifying the risks, as over half of the incidents involved internally displaced people.

Only a quarter of rape survivors were able to access medical care within the critical 72-hour window due to insecurity, stigma, weak referral systems, and the lack of health facilities in remote areas, it said.

The office said that 44 humanitarian partners, including UN agencies, have assisted nearly 20,000 people by providing medical care, psychosocial support, legal aid, dignity kits, emergency shelter and case management between January and July of this year.

Services remain heavily concentrated in the capital of Port-au-Prince and in the Artibonite department, where most partners are based, while other regions receive very limited support, said OCHA.

Chronic underfunding and severe access constraints are leaving the vast majority of survivors without life-saving care. Only 18 percent of the 19 million U.S. dollars required for prevention and response to gender-based violence in Haiti has been received to date, said OCHA. ■