Haiti: Overview of the Humanitarian Response at the National Level - Situation Report No. 18 (1 - 30 April 2025)

CONTEXT

In April, the humanitarian situation continued to deteriorate due to escalating violence in the Centre and Artibonite Departments, where more than 67,000 additional people were displaced. This occurred in a context of worsening food insecurity and limited access to basic social services and education for children.

The Centre Department alone recorded over 51,000 newly displaced persons following a wave of armed attacks that began on 31 March. While most people found refuge with host families, 12,584 individuals settled in 95 spontaneous sites. Humanitarian partners participating in a multisectoral mission to Hinche and Boucan-Carre from 22 to 25 April reported urgent needs for shelter, water, food, healthcare, and protection—especially for women and girls facing heightened risks of violence. In the Artibonite Department, attacks in the commune of Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite on 28 April triggered the displacement of over 16,000 people.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the number of displacement sites nearly doubled between March and April—from 119 to 228—mainly due to violence in the Centre Department.
Across the country, sites are now hosting 203,789 internally displaced people, marking a 10 per cent increase compared to March.

Food security also worsened. According to the IPC analysis released in April 2025, 5.7 million people are facing acute food insecurity—up from 5.4 million in the August 2024 projection. Among them, over 1 million children are facing critical levels of need, according to UNICEF.

As of 30 April, more than 1,600 additional schools had closed—a 60 per cent increase since the beginning of the year—disrupting learning for more than 243,000 children. Most of these closures occurred in the West and Centre Departments, where many schools are now being used as shelters for displaced families, are occupied by armed groups, or have been relocated due to insecurity.