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Current Requirements (US$)$719.9 million
Analysis of the context, crisis and needs
Haiti is experiencing a political, economic and humanitarian crisis coupled with high levels of insecurity and violence. The control the armed gangs exert, coupled with poor economic governance, has paralysed economic and social life.
Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on 7 July 2021, Haiti has faced a political vacuum and deadlock. In parallel, it has experienced four years of negative economic growth, with skyrocketing inflation rates reaching 30 per cent at its peak, in July 2022. The price of the food basket increased by 63 per cent over a year and was combined with the global increase of fuel and gas prices, which has further increased the prices of imported goods.
The Government’s decision to suspend oil subsidies set off large-scale and sometimes violent nationwide protests and blockades. Since mid-September, armed groups have controlled the fuel shortage, culminating in the blockade of the oil terminal in Varreux, which holds 70 per cent of Haiti’s fuel supplies. This has, in turn, cut off supplies, which led to alarming restrictions in water distribution, power supply and telecommunications, causing hospitals to operate at less than half their capacity.
Cholera resurged in early October, after three years with no cases in the country. This comes as living conditions steadily deteriorate and access to basic services is largely suspended. Humanitarian access continues to be a challenge, which has impacted the response to the cholera outbreak and other pressing humanitarian needs.
Cité Soleil, Haiti
People line up for a food distribution.
WFP/Theresa PiorrWhile affecting the whole population, the outbreak has had a particularly devastating impact on the most vulnerable people, particularly children, who constitute half of the number of cholera cases. The majority of cases have been recorded in the poorest neighbourhoods of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, but suspected cases have been reported in eight out of ten departments.
Severe food insecurity increased in 2022, with almost half the population facing acute hunger, including 1.8 million people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). For the first time ever in Haiti, 19,200 people suffer from catastrophic hunger (Phase 5) in the densely populated commune of Cité Soleil. Food security continued to deteriorate in rural areas.
Malnutrition exceeds emergency thresholds, particularly in areas affected by gang violence. For example, UNICEF reports that 20 per cent of children under age 5 in Cité Soleil suffer from acute malnutrition, including 5 per cent of severe acute malnutrition.
Women, children, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups have been disproportionately affected by the ongoing crisis. They have limited access to health and WASH services, with women giving birth with no medical assistance in makeshift displacement sites, and children under age 15 comprising many of the cholera cases. Sexual and gender-based violence (GBV) remains a serious concern. Armed gangs have used rape, including collective rapes, and other forms of sexual violence to instil fear, and to punish, subjugate and inflict pain on local populations, with the goal of expanding their areas of influence throughout Port-au-Prince. Children continue to be at risk of recruitment by gangs, and young girls are resorting to sex work to help feed themselves and their families.
Beaumont, Haiti
After the August 2021 earthquake, Save the Children built semi-permanent schools to replace the collapsed schools so that children could quickly resume their education.
OCHA/Christian CricboomSchools in Haiti have not reopened for the 2022-2023 scholastic year due to persistent insecurity, violence and fuel scarcity affecting around 4 million children.
Gang violence has led to new waves of internal displacement, with the International Organization for Migration reporting a record 113,000 internally displaced persons living in sites or with host families, often in precarious conditions.
The migration crisis continues its upward trend as Haitians seek to reach other countries. Forced repatriations by land also continued after the cholera outbreak began, including at the border with the Dominican Republic.
In this dire situation, humanitarian partners have seen their operations curtailed due to insecurity, access and fuel restrictions, supply constraints and rising operational costs. During the period of social unrest in September and October 2022, humanitarian stocks and facilities were targeted and looted, resulting in the loss of more than US$7 million worth of supplies across the country.
Projected situation in 2023 and beyond
The impact of the current political and security situation on humanitarian needs makes it difficult to project developments into 2023. The upward or downward trend will largely depend on the following intertwined factors: a political agreement being reached to pave the way for free and fair elections and democratic reform; violence and insecurity reducing, and the impact of the potential deployment of a rapid action force by the Security Council, as requested by the Haitian Government; and sufficient funding and humanitarian access that enable humanitarians and their partners to address urgent humanitarian needs. The deployment of international forces may bring relative stability and improve humanitarian access, but that access could be severely hindered in the initial stages. Moreover, despite this support, insecurity is likely to remain latent.
In the scenario where UN Member States decide not to send support to the Haitian National Police, the security situation is expected to deteriorate, and the fuel supply and access will remain limited. This will hamper the community response, which could lead to a further expansion of the cholera epidemic. In a very insecure environment, it will be difficult to hold elections, and the recession and inflation are likely to continue to worsen.
Les Cayes, Haiti
Discussions with beneficiaries who lost their homes in the August 2021 earthquake.
WFP/Theresa PiorrIn the event of international intervention, the eventual restoration of access and security could lead to a slow but gradual improvement in people's lives and livelihoods. Cholera could be contained more effectively, and catastrophic levels of food insecurity addressed. The unblocking of the national road to Haiti’s southern peninsula could enable the population in the south to regain their livelihoods.
However, if stabilization cannot be achieved, the consequences could be catastrophic not only in terms of cholera, but also food insecurity, malnutrition and displacement, as well as access to basic services such as education, WASH, health and protection (including GBV).
In addition, Haiti could face climatic hazards and risks related to natural threats.
In both scenarios, it is expected that more than 5.2 million people (46 per cent of the population) will need humanitarian assistance.
While the entire country is exposed to multiple vulnerabilities, these will intensify in areas where there are overlapping crisis factors, such as gang-controlled neighbourhoods in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, regions with a high level of food insecurity, and the southern peninsula, which has been cut off from the capital for over 18 months.
Response priorities in 2023
Between 22 July and 28 October 2022, UN agencies provided water to 2,000 people for three months and distributed food to around 65,000 people in Cité Soleil, one of the poorest gang-controlled areas of the capital. Expanded humanitarian access to other neighbourhoods that urgently need assistance may be achieved. More than a year after the 14 August 2021 earthquake in the south, almost 97 per cent of the 500,000 people targeted by the earthquake response plan have received assistance. However, as the affected departments have been cut off from the capital since June 2021, reconstruction efforts remain extremely difficult. Overall, some access and security issues hinder the implementation of humanitarian interventions.
Haiti HRP
In 2023, humanitarian partners, in support of the Government, will aim to target 3 million of the 5.2 million people who need humanitarian assistance. A priority for the response will be the provision of health and WASH services to prevent the spread of and response to the cholera outbreak through a community-based approach. Food and livelihoods assistance is urgently needed for people living in IPCs 4 and 5, and partially for people in IPC 3. Another priority is the provision of protection services, including psychosocial and health support for children and survivors of sexual violence. Humanitarian access must be maintained and expanded to allow humanitarian actors to provide life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable people living in gang-controlled and remote areas.
Continued efforts will be made to put Haitians at the centre of preparedness and response. Therefore, accountability and community engagement, inclusion of people with disabilities, gender equality, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, and localization will be put at the forefront. All actors will strengthen collaboration and synergies between humanitarian, development and peace projects and programmes , accountability to affected people, and anticipatory action.