Haiti
The humanitarian situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate. Gang violence in the capital, Port-au-Prince, persists and is spilling out into the provinces. More than 702,000 people are displaced across the country, having fled their homes in search of safety. A hunger crisis is also escalating rapidly. Around 2 million people (18 percent of the population) are facing critical levels of hunger, including more than 34,500 pregnant women, while close to 59,000 pregnant women are facing crisis levels of hunger as gang violence smothers life in Port-au-Prince and beyond.
Families are struggling to secure even the most basic necessities – food, health care, water, psychological support, sanitation and hygiene. The most vulnerable are finding refuge in locations that lack basic services and are ill equipped to accommodate so many people.
The level of insecurity and brutality, including sexual violence, that women are facing at the hands of gangs in Haiti is unprecedented. Around 94 percent of women and girls are at risk of gender-based violence as access to essential social and protection services is limited.
Health facilities and hospitals also have been forced to close in Port-au-Prince, while medicines are in short supply and facilities lack staff – leaving an estimated 3,000 pregnant women struggling to access maternal health care.
To ensure that reproductive health and protection services continue, UNFPA is distributing essential medical supplies for maternal health as well as protection-service provision to health facilities and hospitals that remain operational. Mobile clinics have been deployed to displacement sites in the capital and in the Artibonite department to provide reproductive health services and support to prevent and respond to violence. In the capital, a hotline and safe spaces are providing medical and psychosocial support to women and girls. Essential hygiene items, including sanitary pads, have been distributed in displacement sites.
Despite the soaring needs, funding for protection for women and girls is woefully inadequate. In 2024, UNFPA is appealing for $28 million to respond to humanitarian needs to ensure that women and girls and survivors of violence can access the reproductive health and protection support they so desperately need.
Updated on 22 October 2024