More than 700,000 people have been displaced in Haiti, with over half of them being children, the United Nations reported on Wednesday, as gang violence continues to ravage the Caribbean nation.
Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries, has been engulfed in chaos as armed gangs seize control of the capital, Port-au-Prince, leading to the collapse of security and healthcare systems.
The UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) revealed that as of early September, around 702,973 Haitians had been forced from their homes, a 22 percent increase since June, underlining the deepening humanitarian crisis.
Gregoire Goodstein, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Haiti, stressed the need for urgent international intervention. “The sharp rise in displacement underscores the urgent need for a sustained humanitarian response,” he said, calling on global support for both displaced Haitians and the communities sheltering them.
The IOM report highlighted that approximately 75 percent of displaced individuals had sought refuge in Haiti’s provinces, while the remaining 25 percent are still in Port-au-Prince, where the situation remains volatile. Those displaced in the capital are often forced to live in overcrowded conditions with minimal access to basic services.
About 83 percent of displaced people are being hosted by families, further straining already limited resources. Many host households are grappling with food shortages, inadequate healthcare, and a lack of essential goods in local markets.
Efforts to restore stability in Haiti are ongoing, following the UN Security Council’s approval in October 2023 of a multinational stabilisation force led by Kenya to assist the Haitian police in tackling gang violence. On Monday, the Security Council extended the mission but stopped short of upgrading it to a full UN peacekeeping operation.
In a recent report, the UN human rights office revealed that more than 3,600 people have been killed in gang-related violence in Haiti this year alone.