Haiti: Overview of access constraints in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, 25 March 2024

CONTEXT

Armed violence continues to impede humanitarian operations and people’s access to basic social services and humanitarian aid in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area (ZMPAP). More than 300 access-restricting incidents were reported between January to March 2024, with the number of incidents growing fourfold between December 2023 and March 2024. These restrictions have led to the implementation of security measures for humanitarian personnel’s movements, the cancellation of flights to and from Port-au-Prince, no access to the port for container retrieval and the unavailability of services between the curfew hours of 7:00 PM and 5:00 AM. Additionally, access to basic services such as health or education remains limited; 33 schools are occupied by internally displaced persons (IDPs) and at least 50 per cent of health facilities are either closed or operating minimally. Moreover, food prices have risen about 22 per cent in the past 12 months and difficulties in accessing certain agricultural areas persist. There have also been attacks against humanitarian goods and infrastructure, including the looting of hospitals, health centres and several humanitarian containers. All these constraints have resulted in the suspension or delay of humanitarian operations, exacerbating the vulnerability of populations already weakened by layers upon layers of crises.

Despite these conditions, access remains possible through dialogue based on humanitarian principles with communities and other influential actors.

Ongoing efforts include:

• Initiatives to extract humanitarian containers from the port;

• Dialogue for the opening of certain strategic routes for delivering humanitarian assistance;

• Monitoring of access constraints.