Hunger has reached unprecedented levels in Haiti amid a deepening security crisis. Nearly five million people - almost half of the country's population - are now facing acute food insecurity, including more than 1.6 million people at the emergency level, according to an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released Friday. Meanwhile, gangs have extended their control and influence to more than 90 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Haiti
Haitian leaders are rushing to meet a looming deadline to name members of a transitional council that will take power following the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Meanwhile, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that Haiti is on the brink of a devastating hunger crisis, with humanitarian operations at risk of grinding to a halt amid rampant violence as armed gangs tighten their grip on the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The United Nations says it remains deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Haiti amid ongoing gang violence and sporadic clashes between heavily armed gangs and police forces in some parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince. At least 15,000 people have been displaced by the clashes, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Haiti's government has declared a 72-hour state of emergency following a fierce battle between the country's police and powerful armed gangs over the weekend. Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry were unknown Monday, three days after he signed a bilateral agreement in Kenya to pave the way for a possible multinational force to help restore security in the troubled Caribbean nation.
The United Nations, together with the Government of Haiti and other partner organizations, on Tuesday launched the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Haiti, which requires US$674 million. The HRP aims to provide food, shelter, health, education and protection services to 3.6 million Haitians over the next 12 months. More than 5.5 million people - including 3 million children - are in need of humanitarian assistance this year as the security situation in the Caribbean country deteriorates.
As Haiti faces a worsening conflict involving heavily armed gangs, the number of people killed, injured or kidnapped has surged in 2023, according to a new United Nations report. The number of reported homicides last year increased by nearly 120 percent compared with 2022, with 4,789 victims reported during 2023. Haiti now has a homicide rate of 40.9 per 100,000 people, one of the highest in the world.
International donor funding to alleviate hunger in the world's neediest countries plummeted in 2023, despite exacerbating global food insecurity reaching record highs, aid agencies warn. Humanitarian appeals for the 17 countries bearing the brunt of food insecurity suffered a staggering funding gap of 65 percent last year, up 23 percent from 2022, according to an analysis released this week by the humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger.
A new United Nations report published Tuesday details a further, shocking rise in gang violence in Haiti as criminal gangs forge alliances and expand to rural areas previously considered safe – killing, raping, kidnapping, and destroying property, among other human rights abuses. The report, released by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) and the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), calls for the urgent deployment of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission authorized by the UN Security Council in October, in accordance with international human rights norms and standards.
The United Nations expressed its deep concern Friday about clashes, which erupted on Monday between armed groups in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince. The fighting affected the neighborhood of Cité Soleil and its surroundings, including hospitals and health centers; there were reportedly many casualties, as well as incidents of sexual violence, the burning of houses and serious human rights violations.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warn that acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further in 18 hunger hotspots – comprising a total of 22 countries or territories including two regions – during the period from November 2023 to April 2024.
The United Nations says the security situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate, as gang violence is growing and major crimes reach record levels. Briefing the UN Security Council (SC) Monday, the UN special envoy to the country, MarĂa Isabel Salvador, also stressed the enormous significance of SC resolution 2699, adopted earlier this month, authorizing the establishment and deployment of a Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.
The United Nations Security Council has voted Monday to authorize an international force to support Haiti’s police amid a gang-driven security crisis. Acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, 13 of the 15 council members voted for the non-UN Multinational Security Support Mission. China and Russia abstained. Haiti has repeated called for help in supporting its national police.
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has released US$125 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to boost underfunded humanitarian operations in fourteen countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East. Afghanistan and Yemen top the recipient list with $20 million each.
The humanitarian community in Haiti seeks the mobilization of the international community as the country witnesses the continued escalation of violence perpetrated by armed groups in Port-au-Prince and the Département Artibonite. According to a statement released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Thursday, the “world must act now to prevent further atrocities.”
Killings, kidnappings, and sexual violence by criminal groups in and around Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, have increased dramatically since the start of 2023 with a weak to non-existent state response, the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned in a report released Monday. HRW said while international security support may be needed, it should be “part of a multi-faceted response with robust human rights safeguards.”
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns that there is an alarming spike in kidnappings of children and women in Haiti, with nearly 300 cases confirmed in the first six months of the year. In a statement Monday, UNICEF said this is almost equal to the total number of cases documented in 2022, and close to three times more than in 2021.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today it has been forced to cut the number of people receiving emergency food assistance in Haiti by 25 percent in July, compared to the previous month, due to dwindling funding levels. This means 100,000 of the most vulnerable Haitians are forced to get by without any support by the UN agency this month amid a deteriorating humanitarian situation.
Nearly 3 million children – the highest number on record – need humanitarian support in Haiti, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned Thursday. Children face staggering levels of violence that have exacerbated hunger and malnutrition in a country already mired in poverty and a resurgence of cholera. Meanwhile, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held a special meeting Friday on food insecurity in Haiti amid the rapidly deteriorating situation in the country.
Acute food insecurity is set to increase in magnitude and severity in 18 hunger hotspots comprising a total of 22 countries, a new UN early warning report has found. The analysis issued Monday by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) calls for urgent humanitarian action to save lives and livelihoods and prevent starvation and death in countries where acute hunger is at a high risk of worsening from June to November 2023.
The newly appointed United Nations Special Representative for Haiti has said that the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the country demands that Haiti remains at the center of international attention and needs action now. In her first briefing to the UN Security Council Wednesday, Maria Isabel Salvador stressed that gang violence is expanding at an alarming rate in areas previously considered relatively safe in the capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as outside the city.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that around 80 per cent of Haiti’s capital is under the control or influence of gangs. In a report released Friday, OCHA warns the impact of armed violence on the population has reached unprecedented levels, with more than 5.2 million Haitian men, women and children - almost half the population - in need of humanitarian assistance.
Extreme violence and gross human rights abuses, including mass incidents of murder, gang rape and sniper attacks, have sharply increased in Cité Soleil on the outskirts of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, said a UN report published Friday, creating “a living nightmare” for thousands. The report comes as 5.2 million people – nearly half of the Haitian population – are in need of humanitarian aid, including 2.6 million children.
The United Nations (UN) and the government of Haiti have reiterated their appeal Tuesday for an international force to quickly deploy to the Caribbean island nation to help subdue an unprecedented level of gang violence that has terrorized the population. The move comes as 5.2 million people – nearly half of the Haitian population – are in need of humanitarian aid, including 2.6 million children.
The number of people displaced by gang-related violence in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, has tripled in the past five months, according to a report published this week by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The assessment, conducted between June and August 2022, identified over 113,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Haiti. Of these, 96,000 men, women and children fled insecurity in the capital, due to inter-gang violence and social unrest.
The United Nations and humanitarian partner agencies have called Thursday for the immediate opening of a humanitarian corridor in Haiti to allow fuel to be accessed at the country’s main fuel terminal. They are deeply concerned about the serious consequences of the blocking of the Varreux Terminal on the humanitarian situation, in particular the resurgence of cholera.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) Save the Children International has today expressed its grave concern for the wellbeing of children and their families in Haiti, amid escalating violence and worsening political and economic crises. The NGO is urgently calling on the international community to ramp up its support to the Caribbean nation, to meet the growing needs of vulnerable children and families.