Following the escalation of the security situation in Port-au-Prince and Artibonite in February 2024, the number of displaced people fleeing gang attacks increased by 60% compared to the same period last year, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with nearly 600,000 people fleeing gang attacks, the UN agency responsible for emergency aid reports.

Insecurity has also left 1.5 million children without access to school.

The UN recently warned that lack of funding for humanitarian aid and growing needs are exposing millions of Haitians to chronic vulnerability.

To reverse the situation, the international community and donors need to increase funding for UN agencies and NGOs’ assistance operations, the Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, adding "The indiscriminate violence of armed groups and the near collapse of basic services have plunged Haiti into a humanitarian crisis not seen since 2010," OCHA noted, referring to the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti 14 years ago that killed more than 300,000 people.

Half of the displaced people, desperately fleeing the capital in search of safety, have headed south, where the vast majority are staying with already economically vulnerable host families.

Basic social services, such as education, health and water, hygiene and sanitation, already insufficient to meet the needs of the local population, have been severely affected, OCHA said.

"This wave of violence continues to have humanitarian consequences for populations in affected neighborhoods and localities, but also in areas far from the capital that have become host to hundreds of thousands of people," OCHA said.

Some 300,000 cases of malnutrition have been recorded and five million people, or nearly 50 percent of the Haitian population, are facing acute food insecurity, according to a report published earlier this year by a global monitoring group.

According to OCHA, there are concerns that the epicentre of the current humanitarian crisis is gradually shifting to an increasing number of areas that were previously not subject to insecurity.

Additional financial resources are urgently needed to meet the growing needs of the Haitian population affected by this multidimensional crisis, OCHA stressed. Without additional funds, these crises will continue.

Concerns about continued food insecurity are widespread.

In addition, hundreds of thousands of out-of-school children are at risk of recruitment by armed groups and will grow up without the skills needed for their future and survival. It is also estimated that half a million vulnerable children and victims of protection incidents will be deprived of mental health services and psychosocial support.

Humanitarian assistance is only part of the solution

The UN Office maintained, however, that while humanitarian assistance is a lifeline for many, "it is only part of the solution."

"The Government and political and development actors must work together to find sustainable solutions to Haiti’s structural challenges," it stressed.

HL/ HaitiLibre