The country
Haiti is a Caribbean country on the island of Hispaniola and shares land borders with the Dominican Republic. After declaring its independence in 1804, Haiti became the first nation in the world to be ruled by former slaves. The country covers an area of 27,750 square kilometers. Its capital is Port-au-Prince. In 2024, the country has an estimated population of about 11.7 million people. Haiti is the least developed country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most fragile states in the world.
The humanitarian situation
In Haiti, millions of people need humanitarian aid to fight hunger, amid a deteriorating security situation. Armed gangs control or influence 90 percent of the capital. The country has a long history of natural disasters and remains highly vulnerable to hurricanes, earthquakes and floods. In January 2010, Haiti was hit by a major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0, the epicenter of which was about 25 km west of the capital Port-au-Prince. It is estimated that more than 300,000 people died and about 1.5 million were left homeless. The earthquake was rated as the worst in the region in the last 200 years.
On 14 August 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Haiti, killing more than 2,200 people, affecting over 800,000 people and causing widespread destruction. The 2021 disaster exacerbated an already difficult humanitarian situation marked by ongoing political instability, socio-economic crisis, gang-related insecurity, internal displacement and increasing food insecurity and malnutrition. The sociopolitical situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate, while violence and crime are on the rise, especially in the urban areas of the capital.
Kidnappings, killings and gang violence have worsened the economic situation and increased insecurity, particularly in Port-au-Prince, but also spreading to rural ares. The forced repatriation of thousands of Haitian citizens who had emigrated to neighboring countries has further aggravated the already critical situation in the country.
Widespread poverty, rising costs of living, low agricultural production, and expensive food imports have exacerbated existing food insecurity in Haiti, leaving many women, men, and children suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Some 4.97 million people are now facing acute food insecurity, including more than 1.6 million people at the emergency level, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released in March 2024.
In 2024, the United Nations estimates that 5.5 million - nearly half of the population - will be in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, an increase from the previous year. Humanitarian organizations say that $674 million are needed in 2024 to provide life-saving assistance to people targeted. As of April 2024, the UN Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Haiti is only 7 percent funded,
The violence in the Haitian capital has aggravated an already precarious situation for children and their families. 500,000 children have no regular access to schools, limited access to water and alarming malnutrition rates. Armed violence has intensified the number of children in Haiti suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), also known as severe wasting. More than 115,600 children were expected to suffer from severe wasting in 2023, compared to 87,500 in 2022.
Cholera broke out again in Haiti in October 2022. As of December 15, 2023, there were more than 76,556 suspected or confirmed cases, and 1,156 reported deaths from cholera. Experts fear that the actual number is significantly higher due to underreporting.
More than 5.2 million people required humanitarian aid in 2023, including nearly 3 million children. The United Nations 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti required US$720 million to help more than three million people. As of December, the HRP was only 33 percent funded. In July last year, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced it has been forced to cut the number of people receiving emergency food assistance in Haiti by 25 percent, due to dwindling funding levels.
The security situation
President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on 7 July 2021, leading Haiti into an extra-constitutional governance structure and contributing to the country’s growing fragility. President Moïse's five-year term would have ended on 7 February 2022; his assassination plunged Haiti deeper into political crisis. As a result, the national parliament and regional elections were postponed indefinitely, and the new presidential election has not yet been scheduled.
On 20 July 2021, the Government of Haiti installed Ariel Henry as prime minister. As of April 2024, Haiti had no president, the parliament did not have any elected member and the Supreme Court did not function due to a lack of judges. On December 21, 2022, a National Consensus Agreement was signed by a broad spectrum of Haitian political figures, civil society members, clergy, trade unions and the private sector on a way forward on elections.
At the same time, kidnappings, killings and gang violence have worsened the economic situation and increased insecurity, particularly in the capital. Approximately 150 criminal groups operate in Port-au-Prince, and its metropolitan region, many under two of the main criminal coalitions, the G-Pèp federation and the G9 alliance.
Gangs control or influence 90 percent of the capital, gain increasing control of Port-au-Prince, and have spread to other parts of the country. An estimated two million people, including 1.6 million women and children, live in areas that are effectively controlled by gangs.
According to human rights groups and analysts, many of the gangs are linked to political actors. They also control strategic access routes in the country and have expanded their criminal activities throughout Haiti. Armed gangs commit serious abuses against the population, including large-scale sexual violence, forcing entire communities to flee.
Since June 2021 recurrent territorial clashes between rival gangs inside and around Port-au-Prince have forced thousands of people to leave their homes. In 2022, a renewed wave of gang violence killed hundreds of people and further deepened the humanitarian and political crisis in Haiti, forcing ten of thousands more to flee their homes.
As of March 2024, more than 362,000 people are internally displaced in Haiti, most of them due to gang-related violence. More than 160,000 people are currently displaced in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. More than half of those forced to flee are children.
Ten of thousands of women, children, and men have fled their homes since the beginning of the year to escape the escalating crisis. Nearly 95,000 people have fled the capital Port-au-Prince due to the the violence that has been raging since February 29.
Tens of thousands have attempted to flee the country. Despite repeated calls from the UN that Haitians should not be forcibly returned to Haiti, other countries have returned nearly 104,000 people to Haiti between January and August 2023.
In 2023, killings, kidnappings, and sexual violence by criminal groups in and around Port-au-Prince, increased dramatically. According to the UN, at least 4,789 people were killed in Haiti, and 2,490 kidnapped in gang-related violence. The number of reported homicides for 2023 increased by 120 percent compared with 2022, the number of abductions by 83 percent.
Haiti has also seen an alarming increase in mob killings and lynchings of suspected gang members. Last year, hundreds of alleged gang members across all ten departments of Haiti have been lynched by local people and vigilante groups. At least 528 cases of lynching were reported in 2023.
According to a report by the UN Human Rights Office, the number of victims of gang violence skyrocketed in the first three months of 2024. Between January and March 2024, at least 2,505 people were killed or injured as a result of gang-related violence, making the first three months of this year the most violent period since the beginning of 2022. At least 438 people were kidnapped during the same period.
The United Nations warn that humanitarian access is seriously compromised by insecurity. The increase in gang violence has prompted the Haitian government to appeal to the international community for help. The government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry had asked for a rapid reaction force to be sent to Haiti to stop the gang violence.
The call was supported by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has also called on the international community to urgently consider the deployment of a time-bound specialized support force.
On 2 October 2023, the United Nations Security Council authorized an international force to support Haiti’s police. Acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, 13 of the 15 council members voted for the non-UN Multinational Security Support Mission, while China and Russia abstained. The Mission's objective is to assist the Haitian police in curbing rising gang violence and restoring security in the Caribbean country.
Resolution 2699 (2023) authorizes the Security Support Mission for an initial period of one year, with a review after nine months. It is unclear when the force will be deployed. Kenya has volunteered to lead the Multinational Security Support Mission and has pledged about a thousand police officers. The Caribbean countries of the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Antigua and Barbuda have also said they will contribute personnel. In addition, further African countries such as Chad, Senegal and Burundi have announced that they would reinforce the multinational force.
However, on January 26, 2024, the Supreme Court of Kenya rejected the planned deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti. The court also ruled that only defense forces, but not security services, could be deployed. The ruling came after the court in Nairobi suspended the Kenyan government's plan to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti last year.
Since late February 2024, violence has escalated in many neighborhoods of the capital, Port-au-Prince, as gangs launched coordinated attacks against key public institutions, aimed at overthrowing the government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Tens of thousands have been displaced as a result of the violence or have fled the capital.
On March 1, heavy gunfire led to two prison breaks, plunging Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas into further chaos. More than 4,600 inmates escaped from the capital's two main prisons, and at least 22 police stations, sub-police stations, and other police buildings were looted or set on fire. Armed gangs also stepped up attacks on other critical infrastructure, including the international airport and the seaport.
On March 11, unelected Prime Minister Henry announced his resignation. Following his resignation, a transitional council will assume power. The proposal for the transitional council to govern violence-plagued Haiti emerged during a meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The council will select an interim prime minister and prepare for the next presidential election. It will also appoint an inclusive council of ministers. The interim government will serve until new elections are held.
The United Nations says Haiti needs a combination of a strengthened national police force, the rapid deployment of a multinational support force and credible elections to put the country back on the path to security and stability. The upsurge in violence in the country has exacerbated already dire living conditions for millions of people, particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
On April 12, a formal decree was published establishing the Transitional Presidential Council, which is tasked with selecting Haiti's next prime minister and cabinet, as well as appointing members of the Provisional Electoral Council. Prime Minister Henry has not resigned yet.
Donations
Your donation for the Haiti emergency can help United Nations agencies, international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their local partners to rapidly provide water, food, medicine, shelter and other aid to the people who need it most.
- World Food Programme: Haiti emergency
https://www.wfp.org/emergencies/haiti-emergency - International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): Haiti earthquake and cholera
https://www.ifrc.org/emergency/haiti-earthquake-and-cholera - World Vision: Haiti Emergency Response
https://donate.worldvision.org/give/haiti-emergency-response-2
Currently, there are only a few active appeals for the Haiti Crisis. You may also consider making an unearmarked donation.
- UN Crisis Relief: Central Emergency Response Fund
https://crisisrelief.un.org/t/cerf - Save the Children US: Haiti Emergency
https://www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/emergency-response/haiti-emergency - UNICEF: Haiti appeal
https://www.unicef.org/appeals/haiti - CARE International: Haiti
https://www.care-international.org/our-work/where-we-work/haiti - Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): Haiti
https://www.msf.org/haiti
To find other organizations to which you can donate, visit: Humanitarian Crisis Relief, Refugees and IDPs, Children in Need, Hunger and Food Insecurity, Medical Humanitarian Aid, Vulnerable Groups, Faith-Based Humanitarian Organizations, and Human Rights Organizations.
Further information
- UN Humanitarian (OCHA): Seven things to know about the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, October 26, 2022
https://unocha.exposure.co/seven-things-to-know-about-the-humanitarian-crisis-in-haiti - International Crisis Group: Haiti
https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/haiti - European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations: Haiti
https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/where/latin-america-and-caribbean/haiti_en - ACAPS: Haiti
https://www.acaps.org/country/haiti/crisis/complex-crisis - Council on Foreign Relations (CFR): Backgrounder: Haiti
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/haitis-troubled-path-development - United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH)
https://binuh.unmissions.org/en - Human Rights Watch World Report 2024: Haiti
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/haiti - Amnesty International: Report 2022/2023: Human rights in Haiti
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/central-america-and-the-caribbean/haiti/report-haiti/
Last updated: 21/04/2024