Breaking point in Haiti: the struggle for survival

A woman and a young boy are seated on the floor. The woman is showing the boy something in a book. Other people also sitting or lying on the floor can be seen in the background.

A displaced mother helps her child study at the Delmas 4 Olympique Boxing Arena turned into a displacement site in Port-au-Prince. OCHA/Giles Clarke

The crisis in Haiti is escalating at an alarming rate. The country is witnessing staggering levels of lawlessness and brutality at the hands of armed gangs. Schools, hospitals, police stations, shops and Government buildings are being attacked. Many have curtailed their operations in Port-au-Prince. 2023 saw the highest number of killings, kidnappings, lynchings and gender-based violence incidents in recent years. Most of the capital, Port-au-Prince, is believed to be under gang control, while other departments are also increasingly affected by violence.

In recent years, the country has been ravaged by widespread insecurity, disasters, epidemics and the breakdown of basic services, leaving nearly half of its population in need of humanitarian aid.

Photographer Giles Clarke travelled to Haiti twice over the last six months. Here are some of his images depicting what life is now like in Port-au-Prince.

Scores of informal tents are cramped in an open space.

Gymnasium Vincent, in downtown Port-au-Prince. Scores of schools, churches, sports halls and theatres are now emergency shelters.

More than 362,000 people – half of whom are in Port-au-Prince – have been displaced

Displaced people live in overcrowded conditions, with little access to water and sanitation. Most of them are traumatized women and children, who face several physical and psychosocial risks.

A broken car stands diagonally on a narrow road as a barricade.

Abandoned vehicles serve as barricades in Port-au-Prince to prevent non-pedestrian access and limit the risk of kidnappings and gang attacks.

The violence has only intensified in recent months

Since 29 February, violence caused by armed gangs has made people’s access to basic social services extremely difficult. Humanitarian organizations are deeply concerned about the impact of the violence on hospitals, health centres and schools in Port-au-Prince and other towns.

Access to food, health care, water, hygiene facilities and psychological support is urgently needed. Humanitarian actors are delivering emergency aid, but their work is severely disrupted by the growing violence.

Men carry a coffin down throw a narrow path.

A funeral procession in the Grand Cemetery, in downtown Port-au-Prince.

Ulrika Richardson, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Haiti, said: "The recent violence continues to leave thousands of families in mourning and traumatized, notably children and women, plunging them into deep distress. Thousands of people now find themselves unprotected, unsafe and exposed to all types of risks. Displaced people and vulnerable populations need emergency aid and safe, protected spaces. Humanitarian organizations need unhindered access to the most vulnerable populations. This violence cannot continue. It must stop.”

A young girl is seated on the floor with a bowl, while a woman seated near her has a spoon in a bowl. Utensils and other household essential scan be seen on the floor,.

A displaced woman and child prepare food in the former Rex Medina theatre in downtown Port-au-Prince, where they sought temporary shelter.

Close to 50 per cent of people in Haiti struggle to find food

Millions of Haitians do not know where their next meal will come from, and some 1.64 million people are perilously close to famine. The most affected people are in Artibonite region – Haiti’s breadbasket. Unless security improves, this situation will only get worse.

A baby lies on a pile of clothes in a plastic tub.

A child in a makeshift crib, in the former Rex Medina theatre in downtown Port-au-Prince.

Nearly one in four children in Haiti suffers from chronic malnutrition, also known as stunting

Three million children need humanitarian assistance in Haiti. Parents struggle to provide appropriate care and nutrition for their children. They can’t take them to health centres due to the violence.

Women, men and children are sitting or lying on the floor of a room with a high ceiling.

Men, women and children shelter in a boxing arena in downtown Port-au-Prince after fleeing their homes during the ongoing violence in August and September 2023. They sleep on the arena’s floor every night.

A growing risk of sexual exploitation

Gangs are using sexual violence against women and girls as a weapon of intimidation and territorial control. Men and boys are also being targeted. Faced with extreme violence, some families have been displaced multiple times. As food becomes scarce, people become more vulnerable.

The back of a seated woman with an IV drip. The back of her neck and her right hand bandages.

While working as a food vendor in downtown Port-au-Prince, 42-year-old Gherisse was caught in gang crossfire and shot in the neck. She is pictured here recovering in General Hospital two days after the shooting.

The health system is near collapse

Many health facilities have closed or reduced operations because they don’t have enough medicine, blood, beds and staff to treat people who have been shot. To date, at least 50 per cent of health facilities are malfunctioning.

A woman seated inside an informal tent sits with a baby in her arms.

Fabiola, 22, holds her 4-month-old child, Kensly, who was born in this tent.

Children are suffering the most

Half of those who fled their homes are children. Nearly 600,000 children live in gang-controlled areas. Thousands of children are missing out on an education because gang activity has forced schools to close. Many children are now at risk of being recruited by gangs. According to the International Organization for Migration, gang violence in Haiti has displaced 362,000 people. Half of those people are children, with 160,000 in Port-au-Prince alone.

A man and a woman wearing an OCHA t-shirt talk to a woman while a man looks on inside a building. A woman can be seen bathing a child in a tub in the background.

At a new displacement camp next to the Rex Medina theatre in downtown Port-au-Prince, UN staff talk with displaced people to assess their needs.

Despite the violence and limited access, aid workers continue to deliver assistance

Escalating violence is severely hampering aid operations. As per their mandate, humanitarians strive to engage with all relevant parties to negotiate access to people most in need. Since the violence that broke out on 29 February, more than 241,967 hot meals have been distributed to displaced people in Port-au-Prince, as well as water, hygiene and household items. People are also receiving psychosocial support and mobile clinic services.

A man lying half inside an informal tent.

A displaced man inside a tent at St Vincent School, which is now a mass displacement site.

Without urgent funding, the aid operation will collapse

Nearly half of the country’s population (some 5.5 million people) need humanitarian aid to survive. However, the US$674 million Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Haiti is currently just 6.6 per cent funded, with $44.6 million received as of 26 March.

The Haitian Government – with the international community’s support – must take swift action to protect people and reduce soaring needs. Each day that the fighting continues brings more suffering. The violence must stop.