Focusing on What Really Matters: Hunger crisis in Haiti deepens amid escalating violence

By: Dominic MacSorley , Concern Worldwide US Humanitarian Ambassador

Haiti isn’t making the news as one of the many countries currently facing extreme hunger crises, but it should. The?number of people affected, when taken as a percentage of the total population, is truly staggering. Violence and international neglect are core contributors.?

“This is no time for Haiti fatigue.” These were the words of Dr. Gary Conille, recently appointed as acting Prime Minister of this troubled Caribbean nation. A former long term UN official, Conille has arguably one of the toughest jobs of any leader. Among the many challenges he faces is putting an end to the violence that in the past three years has killed around 12,000 people and displaced over 600,000 across the country.??

Gaining control over security is crucial for preparing for next year's long-overdue elections. To support this, the UN Security Council approved a Multinational Security Support Mission, which began deploying in June. Despite significant U.S. funding, the mission lacks support, resources, and equipment, limiting its effectiveness. So far, just 400 of the 2,500 needed police officers have arrived, all of them from Kenya. Prime Minister Conille admitted that while Haiti needs the help, “It’s coming in too slow, and Haitians are growing impatient.”?

Gangs, or armed groups as they are also referred to, control as much as 80% of Haiti’s capital, but have also recently expanded their control to other regions outside the capital, to rural areas like Artibonite. This new crisis has prompted Conille to declare a countrywide state of emergency.??

While some security progress has been made, the overall operating environment remains highly volatile. Haitians continue to be forced from their homes and humanitarian needs continue to increase. In 2024, 5.5 million Haitians required humanitarian assistance, marking an increase from 5.2 million the previous year. This upward trend is likely to continue throughout the year with food insecurity and protection high on the list of urgent?priorities.??

Among the neighborhoods experiencing no significant improvement is Cité Soleil, known as one of the most dangerous and impoverished areas in the Western Hemisphere.?

Located at the western end of the runway of?Port-au-Prince’s international airport, Cité Soleil dates?back to 1958 when an initial 52 homes were constructed?for families working in the Haitian American sugar complex. The sugar industry has long since collapsed and today this overcrowded neighborhood of roughly 500,000 people remains still very much under the control of armed groups.?

Hunger is on the rise with more households in a crisis or emergency food situation

Life in Cité Soleil is extremely tough, with families facing a daily struggle for survival as the community’s social and economic fabric has been devastated by poverty and conflict.?The incidence of rape, abduction, and violent attacks is shockingly high – 80% of women and girls have reportedly suffered one or more forms of gender-based violence. With jobs scarce and markets disrupted, hunger is on the rise and simply feeding your family is a daily struggle. A food security survey conducted by Concern last November showed that 60% of all households were classified as being in a crisis or emergency food situation. That figure is already outdated, and we know the situation has further deteriorated.?

"The community is a victim of all types of violence: physical, marital, sexual, hunger, 'mawon'?(stray) bullets, moral violence and psychological violence." Local resident?

As you drive into Cité Soleil, the scars of conflict are immediately evident, with burnt-out cars barricading rubble strewn streets and small businesses boarded up.?Yet life goes on, and the very energy and resilience of the Haitian people seems to shine even brighter among the dust and destruction.?

Concern has worked in Cité Soleil for many years, adjusting and adapting to waves of insecurity, to deliver a lifeline of support to the most vulnerable even in the hardest times.??Community trust and acceptance is core to how we work and is maintained through consistency and transparency and above all by fostering a strong sense of community ownership from the outset.? More effective than any armed escort, the hard work of building this trust ensures that communities protect our staff as their own.

“There are 10 people living in the house. My brother who helped us died on July 10, 2023 during a shooting. His body was never found. After that, things got worse for us, we did not have anything to eat... when there are clashes, we have to leave the area very quickly. It’s thanks to Concern’s activities that we have something to eat and are able to survive.” Mange pi Byen project participant, Cite Soleil, July 2023?

‘Eat Well’ & ‘Strong Women’?

My guide to Cité Soleil was Concern Worldwide’s Raymonde, a young bright field agent who explained that we were going to see two programs in action: “Manje Pi Byen”?(Eat Better)?and “Fanm Djanm”?(Strong Women). Funded by USAID, Irish Aid, and the UN Peace Building Fund, these programs provide?a critical safety net for around 22,000 individuals.??

On the day I visited, our team was registering a new cohort of participants. This included people who had recently been displaced, families earning less than $50 a month, households with malnourished children, women-headed households, people with disabilities,?elderly residents, and young girls. Once enrolled, they will have access to a wide range of support mechanisms, including livelihood restoration, cash vouchers for food assistance, and nutrition training for mothers and pregnant women.

Not daring to hope beyond tomorrow?

In a nearby church hall, which doubles as a community center, I met Lourdes Saint Georges, one of many women attending a nutrition training session. Wearing a bright green hat, Lourdes, as with all the women, had dressed in her best for the occasion.?First to stand up and talk about what the program meant to her, she explained that since her husband had been violently killed, she alone was raising her six children.?The cash vouchers which allowed her to buy her own food were a lifeline, and through the training she was learning how best to select the types of food that would keep her youngest nutritionally strong.?Among the other mothers in the group, she said she had found a new support system and felt less alone.

Lourdes had extraordinary strength and grace, yet the fragility of existence for her and her children was a heavy perceptible burden. When asked what she hoped for in the future, she said she didn’t dare think beyond tomorrow – she only focuses on today.

Conflict, hunger and violence are a daily, interconnected reality for millions of Haitians

According to the latest data (March 2024), 4.97 million people in Haiti were suffering from crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity. In Cité Soleil, 230,000 people or 60% of residents fall into this urgent category.?A new updated report, expected in a few weeks, is predicted to paint an even more catastrophic picture.??

Incredibly, for a country once self-sufficient in food production, almost 50% of the entire population are acutely food insecure. The majority of staple food products available to buy are imported, and prices have skyrocketed.?

As to levels of violence, the situation is equally and shockingly grim, and it is Haitian women who bear a disproportionate burden. Rape cases increased by 49% from January to August 2023, compared to the same period in the previous year. According to the UN, 94% of women and girls in Haiti are at risk of gender-based violence.?

In tackling and preventing the scourge of gender-based violence, through its Fanm Djanm (Strong Women) program Concern works on practical solutions that seek to both prevent and respond. Throughout Cité Soleil, street lighting has been installed to improve nighttime safety and security. Working directly with survivors of GBV, a network of 188 community-based protection and psychosocial focal points increases awareness on prevention and facilitates greater access to local medical services including though our partnership with an MSF-supported hospital.?Community safe spaces have been established to foster a renewed sense of survivor solidarity and strength. This is essential, tough, critical work, aimed at better protecting and improving the lives of predominantly women and girls, but also men and young boys.

"Since 2019, insecurity reigns... there has never been security in the country, women have never been protected, they have always been victims of violence, and they constantly have to be careful not to be victimized. The population feels uncomfortable, their needs are numerous. It is solidarity that keeps them in the community." Community testimonial.

Delivering humanitarian assistance to those most affected by this crisis is not easy – in fact it’s extremely complicated and challenging. However,?any claim that it's impossible to work in Haiti is untrue and does a gross disservice to the heroic efforts of the aid community.?

So,?access, while unpredictable at times, is possible and humanitarian support is reaching people in need. Frankly though, a lack of international support means that humanitarian needs now vastly outstrip the funding available.?

Only 35% of the Humanitarian Response Plan’s?$674 million target has been funded. By far the largest contributor is the US, providing 67% of the current commitments. Thereafter, donations plummet and France, despite its contentious history with Haiti, comes next at a mere 5.7%. If this level of humanitarian underinvestment continues, it will have devastating consequences, not just now but for generations to come.?

A renewed sense of hope??

Until there is a greater degree of political stability, humanitarian aid workers (the vast majority of them Haitian) will continue to fill the void, working through danger and fear. In the past year, they have supported millions of people in the capital and throughout the country with food, shelter, and valuable social protection programs.?

But Haiti deserves much more.?

During his recent visit to Port-au-Prince, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reaffirmed US support for Haiti. He also?committed to convening?a ministerial meeting at the?upcoming UN General Assembly to encourage other nations to help meet Haiti’s security, economic, and humanitarian needs, as well as to encourage the renewal of the security mission’s mandate, which expires in early October.?

The prospect of new elections signals an emergence of hope and opportunity for Haiti to write a new chapter – one of peace, prosperity, and development. But critical to all of these is securing an end to violence. Women like Lourdes have a right to a better tomorrow, for herself and her children.?