Nearly 580,000 people, including 300,000 children, are internally displaced across Haiti, a 60 percent increase since March, according to the latest data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The UN agency says the rise is due to the deterioration of the security situation in the metropolitan area of Port-Au-Prince, the country's capital, particularly between the end of February and April. Haiti is now the country with the largest number of displacements globally due to crime-related violence.
“The figures we see today are a direct consequence of years of spiraling violence – that reached a new high in February - and its catastrophic humanitarian impact,” said Philippe Branchat, head of the IOM in Haiti, in a statement Tuesday.
“The unending crisis in Haiti is pushing more and more people to flee their homes and leave everything behind. This is not something they do lightly. What’s more, for many of them, this is not the first time.”
Since late February, Port-au-Prince has been engulfed in unprecedented violence, with the Haitian capital cut off from the outside world for weeks following the closure of its airport and seaport. Amid the ongoing violence and isolation, Haiti's health system has been severely affected, leaving people without essential medical services.
As violence intensified in the capital, some 95,000 people fled Port-au-Prince between March 8 and April 9, 60 percent of them to the southern departments. Violence has continued since February 29, including coordinated attacks by armed gangs targeting police stations, hospitals, schools, homes, churches, banks and commercial establishments, as well as the port and airport.
Ongoing armed attacks and clashes between armed groups and police in some communities in Port-au-Prince are causing new displacements and forcing previously displaced people to flee again.
In addition to displacement in and around Port-au-Prince, the upsurge in violence and the effective siege imposed by armed groups have forced increasing numbers of people to flee to neighboring provinces. In the last three months alone, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Southern Region has doubled from 116,000 to 270,000.
Waves of displaced families seeking safety are putting additional pressure on local health services, which were barely able to cope with demand before the latest escalation of the crisis. The closure of the airport and ports between February and May has left medical facilities critically undersupplied.
Fighting between gangs around Port-au-Prince International Airport forced all commercial airlines to suspend operations. On May 20, the airport reopened and some flights resumed. Since reopening, operations have been limited, with significant backlogs and humanitarian supplies blocked at the port.
On Monday, two cargo flights organized by the World Food Programme (WFP) landed in the capital with 55 tons of medicine, shelter and hygiene supplies. According to a UN spokesperson, the supplies will be used to assist displaced people and prepare for the hurricane season.
Since late February, the movement of goods such as medicine and fuel between the capital and the provinces has been severely restricted, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. The country's health system continues to face tremendous challenges, crippled by both the recent violence and years of underinvestment. Currently, only 20 percent of health facilities in Port-au-Prince are functioning normally.
According to IOM, nearly all the displaced women, children and men are currently being hosted by communities already struggling with overburdened social services and poor infrastructure, raising additional concerns about tensions that could lead to further violence. Southern areas, already weakened by the 2021 earthquake, now host nearly half of Haiti's internally displaced population.
In the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, two-thirds of IDPs live in spontaneous settlements with very limited access to basic services, according to the UN agency. Schools and educational facilities currently make up 39 of the 96 active displacement sites and host 61,000 people, severely limiting school attendance.
Since the end of February, the UN agency has provided nearly 5 million liters of clean water to some 25,000 people and rehabilitated 22 water hand pumps. More than 37,000 people have received non-food items such as blankets, water containers, solar lamps, kitchen sets and plastic sheeting.
The humanitarian crisis in Haiti is characterized by a rapid escalation of gang violence, which has added to the suffering of people already affected by critical levels of food insecurity, poverty, and the collapse of basic services. While nearly 600,000 people have been displaced from their homes, others remain trapped in gang-controlled neighborhoods,
An estimated 2.7 million people, including 1.6 million women and children, live in areas under effective gang control. 3 million Haitian children caught up in rampant gang violence are in need of humanitarian assistance, including thousands who are at risk of dying from severe malnutrition. An estimated 1.2 million children are under threat in the greater Port-au-Prince area, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
In the midst of a worsening security crisis, hunger in Haiti has reached unprecedented levels. Some 4.97 million people - nearly half the country's population - are now acutely food insecure, including more than 1.64 million at the emergency level, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis.
Armed gangs now control or influence more than 90 percent of the capital and have spread to rural areas of the country. They have carried out massacres, kidnappings, human trafficking and sexual violence. Recent attacks and violence by armed groups have plunged Haiti into a dramatic security crisis, with civilians under fire far beyond the capital.
With regard to the crisis affecting the country's political institutions, there have been some encouraging developments in recent weeks.
On April 12, a formal decree was issued establishing the Transitional Presidential Council, which is in charge of selecting Haiti's next prime minister and cabinet, as well as appointing members of the Provisional Electoral Council. On May 28, Garry Conille was named the Caribbean nation's new prime minister. On June 11, Haiti's Transitional Council appointed a new cabinet.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Prime Minister Conille and his government, along with members of the Presidential Transitional Council, met with humanitarian actors and technical and financial partners in Port-au-Prince last week.
They discussed the level of preparedness for the hurricane season, assessed the status of pre-positioned supplies, and reviewed the complementarity of resources between international partners and the government to ensure optimal preparedness and response. Conille called on humanitarian partners to strengthen their coordination with the government.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the inauguration of Haiti's new government. According to his spokesperson, he encouraged Haitian stakeholders to continue to make steady progress in the transition towards the restoration of democratic institutions through the holding of elections, and said that this positive milestone should be accompanied by urgently needed security gains.
Guterres reiterated his call for the rapid deployment of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti to assist the Haitian National Police in addressing the dire security situation. The planned deployment of the MSS mission has been delayed several times.
The United Nations says Haiti needs a combination of a strengthened national police force, the rapid deployment of the MSS mission, and credible elections to put the country back on the path to security and stability.
UN human rights experts called Thursday for the security mission in Haiti to support the national police and bring security to the Haitian people, under conditions that comply with international human rights norms and standards.
“We call for comprehensive training for the MSS mission, particularly on the protection of the population, including protection of children, and preserving distinction of humanitarian operations;” they said.
The United Nations estimates that 5.5 million people - nearly half the population - will be in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in 2024. Yet this year's Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti, which calls for $674 million, is only 23 percent funded at $156 million.
The rights experts described the meager level of funding as insufficient to address the severe humanitarian crisis.
“There is an urgent need for increased humanitarian aid, including food, water, medical supplies, menstrual and maternal health products, and shelter,” the independent experts warned, calling on donors, development partners and humanitarian actors to prioritize the protection of IDPs, both in formal and informal settings.
Further information
Full text: Haiti: Soaring number of displaced desperately need protection and aid priority, UN experts urge, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, press release, published June 20, 2024
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/06/haiti-soaring-number-displaced-desperately-need-protection-and-aid-priority
Full text: Protracted Crises in Haiti Drive 60 Percent Increase in Displacement since March, IOM, press release, published June 18, 2024
https://www.iom.int/news/protracted-crises-haiti-drive-60-cent-increase-displacement-march