UNICEF Warns of Record Child Displacement in Haiti

A nine-year-old young boy in Haiti is living with his mother in temporary accommodation after fleeing twice from violence.

The number of children displaced by violence in Haiti has almost doubled over the past year, with 680,000 now uprooted from their homes, according to a new UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Child Alert report.

An alarming 3.3 million children — the highest number on record — are now in need of humanitarian assistance, while cases of acute malnutrition, child recruitment, gender-based violence, and other rights violations continue to rise.

“Children in Haiti are being displaced at a distressing pace and scale,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Each time they are forced to flee, they lose not only their homes but also their chance to go to school, to be safe, and to simply be children.”

Decades of shocks — from deadly earthquakes to political instability and economic collapse — have created one of the world’s most complex humanitarian emergencies in Haiti.

Armed gangs now control over 85 per cent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as key roads, cutting families off from food, healthcare, and protection, and forcing them to flee.

More than 2.7 million people, including 1.6 million women and children, are estimated to be living under gang control. The report warns that the scale of displacement is unprecedented, with the number of refuge sites surging to 246 nationwide in the first half of this year alone.

In Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, classrooms have become both targets and shelters. Over 1,600 schools have been closed, and 25 are occupied by gangs, depriving thousands of children of education.

Adding to the crisis, education costs remain prohibitive — only 15 to 20 per cent of schools are public, and even those require families to pay for textbooks and uniforms, the report noted.

UNICEF has treated more than 86,000 children suffering from wasting — a life-threatening form of malnutrition — and is providing healthcare to 117,000 people, as well as access to safe water for 140,000.

However, the agency warned that its work remains severely underfunded, and without immediate financial support, critical programmes will be constrained.

“The children of Haiti cannot wait,” Ms Russell said. “Like every child, they deserve a chance to be safe, healthy, and to live in peace. It is up to us to take action for Haiti’s children now.”