The United Nations has launched a $908.2 million appeal to assist 3.9 million people in Haiti in 2025, as the Caribbean nation grapples with rampant gang violence and worsening food insecurity.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Haiti’s humanitarian situation deteriorated significantly in 2024, with armed groups inflicting widespread suffering, particularly on women and children.
In the capital, Port-au-Prince, violence has intensified in recent days, with security forces clashing with gangs and residents erecting barricades in protest. Automatic gunfire was reported in multiple neighborhoods on Thursday, while displaced families demanded to return home.
Despite nearly half of Haiti’s 12 million people requiring humanitarian aid, OCHA’s appeal focuses on the most vulnerable, including displaced persons, residents of gang-controlled areas, and cholera-affected communities.
The latest funding request marks a sharp increase from 2024, when the UN sought $674 million. That appeal was only 44 percent funded, leaving millions without necessary assistance.
Hunger levels have surged, with 5.5 million Haitians facing acute food insecurity—an 11 percent rise from March 2024. Among them, two million are in a food emergency, and 6,000 are on the brink of famine.
Meanwhile, gang violence continues to spiral. In 2024, at least 5,600 people were killed in gang-related incidents—a 20 percent increase from 2023—while kidnappings surged to 1,500. Cases of gender-based violence nearly reached 6,000, with 69 percent classified as sexual assaults.
Children have also been increasingly targeted, with a 70 percent rise in the number of minors forcibly recruited by armed groups between mid-2023 and mid-2024.
More than a million people are now displaced within Haiti, representing a 48 percent jump since September 2024. Meanwhile, forced deportations from neighboring Dominican Republic are expected to reach 350,000 in 2025, after 200,000 Haitians were expelled last year.
A UN-backed, Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) was deployed in 2023 to combat Haiti’s rampant gang violence. However, the mission currently consists of only 1,000 officers from six countries—far short of the 2,500 originally envisioned.
Funding and logistical challenges have hampered its effectiveness. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Wednesday that he will propose modifications to the Security Council to provide financial support for the MSS, ensuring it remains operational without transitioning into a full-scale UN peacekeeping mission.
As Haiti’s crisis deepens, the UN hopes its latest appeal will receive greater international backing to prevent further suffering in the region.
