Haiti: Delivering assistance is more important than ever
As the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, grapples with the staggering levels of gang violence that began on 29 February, the assistance provided by humanitarian workers is more essential than ever. For national and international humanitarian partners, the challenge lies in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable people while preserving their dignity.
Feeding Haiti today and tomorrow
Hunger is a persistent concern for almost half of Haiti’s population: nearly 5 million people suffer from food insecurity. The World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners deliver hot meals every day, with more than 500,000 distributed across Port-au-Prince since 29 February. However, funding shortfalls are jeopardizing WFP’s ability to maintain and expand its operations – a grim reality now facing other humanitarian organizations.
Humanitarian response is primarily focused in Port-au-Prince, but the crisis is also significantly affecting departments outside the capital, where partners are calling for agricultural-production support to ensure medium- and long-term food security to help safeguard farmers’ livelihoods.
To that end, the international non-governmental organization (NGO) ActionAid distributed sweet potato seeds to 1,000 families in the Grand'Anse Department in the south-west in late February and early March. This will help these households to generate income and ensure food access over the next three months.
Maintaining medical care to save lives
The recent violence is weakening Haiti’s health sector, which has endured critical challenges for years. The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) estimates that at least 50 per cent of health facilities in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area are now closed or severely disrupted due to the violence.
PAHO/WHO, humanitarian organizations and the Ministry of Public Health and Population are supporting existing hospital centres amid relentless attacks on hospitals, pharmacies and health personnel. In mid-March, more than 800 kg of blood bags, medicines and other medical products were airlifted from the Dominican Republic. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) opened a new trauma centre in Carrefour in early March to receive injured people. However, the NGO notes a decrease in the number of patients, which it attributes to insecurity-related mobility restrictions.
Jean-Marc Biquet, Head of Mission for MSF Belgium in Haiti, explains:
"We receive gunshot victims up to 48 hours after they´ve been shot... and there are fewer survivors of sexual violence coming in, but we know that when it becomes easier to move around, victims will flock to our centres."
The NGO Doctors of the World Argentina (MDM) has worked in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. It recently assisted close to 3,000 people, half of whom are children, and about 130 pregnant or breastfeeding women.
Jimmy Almoza, Head of Mission for MDM Argentina, says:
"We will continue to work tirelessly to provide quality care, strengthen local health institutions and promote a better quality of life for everyone, despite the security challenges."
Accessing water and hygiene – a daily challenge
Haiti has long struggled with access to water, but this issue is now even more crucial for the 15,000 people recently displaced. Since 29 February, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the International Organization for Migration and their partners have distributed more than 3.5 million litres of drinking water to more than 60,000 displaced people, including the 15,000 newly displaced, in Port-au-Prince. Nearly 10,000 people have received hygiene kits.
Healing traumatized bodies and spirits
As gangs wield sexual violence as a weapon of intimidation and territorial control, insecurity and access constraints challenge partners’ work in tackling gender-based violence. However, two centres managed by MDM remain open, offering minimal case management and psychosocial support services. Other partners, including Solidarite Fanm Ayisyèn and Kay Fanm, are providing support through a helpline.
Christian Vovi, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Humanitarian Coordinator, says:
"After the disruption following the violence on 29 February, we organized new mobile clinics and resumed distributing dignity kits at displacement sites whenever access allowed, all thanks to our local partners. But we want to do more."
UNFPA collaborates with national partners such as the Centre for Development and Health (CDS), the Citizen's Initiative for Human Rights (ICDH), the NGO Women in Association for the Development of Haiti and for the Strengthening of Social Integration (FADHRIS), and the Organization of Hearts for Changing Underprivileged Children of Haiti (OCCED'H), among others.
However, people affected by this crisis are now experiencing trauma that goes well beyond what the eye can see. UNICEF and its local partners Action Pastorale pour le Développement Humain and ICDH provide psychosocial support to displaced people, especially to hundreds of children at displacement sites, some of whom are separated from their families.
Angeline Annesteus, National Director of ActionAid in Haiti and President of the Inter-NGO Liaison Framework CLIO, says:
"We often overlook the solidarity of the Haitian people in this crisis, but it has never been more present amid these deteriorating conditions."
Amid these dire circumstances, marked by a funding shortfall and significant access constraints, humanitarian partners, especially the many national organizations, need more support than ever.
Ulrika Richardson, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Haiti, explains:
"Humanitarian aid is crucial, but it is not the solution to Haiti's problems. It is necessary to work together consistently to respond in a dignified and sustainable manner to the structural challenges the Haitian people face every day."