Highlights
-
As of 11 November, the situation in Port-au-Prince has rapidly deteriorated following attacks by armed groups in several neighborhoods – including attempted sieges of established residential areas. These attacks have caused the largest single displacement event since January 2023, with over 40,000 people forced to relocate within two weeks. The international airport remained closed throughout the month, and although UNHAS services experienced a temporary suspension, they have since resumed and remain the sole air-transport option for the humanitarian community to travel in and out of the capital.
-
In response to these events, several partners had to suspend mobile clinics due to security constraints. However, UNICEF has played a crucial role in facilitating the resumption of essential WASH, health-nutrition, and child protection services in displacement sites and host communities.
-
During November, UNICEF provided critical support to over 22,400 children, parents, and caregivers with mental health and psychosocial services. Additionally, more than 67,000 people received critical water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies, and over 35,000 children were screened for wasting, with more than 4,400 cases of severe wasting treated.
-
UNICEF urgently calls on all donors to mobilize resources to address the 72 percent funding gap (US$160.4M) in the 2024 humanitarian appeal. Immediate funding is essential to meet the life-saving humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable women and children in Haiti.
Funding Overview and Partnerships
In 2024, the escalating humanitarian crisis in Haiti highlighted the urgent need for donor support to sustain life-saving interventions and restore essential services for families. The 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti outlines a funding requirement of US$673.8 million for multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance. Within this plan, UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children appeal requests US$221.7 million to address the critical needs of children and their caregivers. This support spans critical areas, including nutrition, education, child protection, health, gender-based violence (GBV), social behaviour change and humanitarian cash transfer programmes.
As of 30 November 2024, 72 per cent of UNICEF’s appeal remains unfunded, leaving gaps in its ability to deliver life-saving assistance. Despite generous contributions from the Republic of Korea, the Government of Japan, the Government of Cyprus, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Government of Greece, the Government of Norway, the Government of France, the Bureau of Humanitarian Aid of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Spanish Committee for UNICEF, the German Committee for UNICEF and the Canadian Committee for UNICEF, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the Government of Belgium, the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and the Government of Canada, urgent needs persist. UNICEF Haiti has also received significant support through the Global Humanitarian Funds and internal allocations via the Emergency Programme Fund (EPF) loan mechanism, which has sustained critical humanitarian activities. Despite these efforts, critical gaps remain, with Child Protection emerging as one of the most underfunded sectors, facing an alarming 88 per cent funding gap.
UNICEF extends its sincere gratitude to all donors for their invaluable contributions. While all funding is vital and greatly appreciated, unearmarked and flexible funding has proven particularly impactful, enabling UNICEF Haiti to respond swiftly and effectively, allocating resources where they are needed most and ensuring timely life-saving interventions.
Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs
In November 2024, Haiti faced severe socio-political and security challenges, with devastating consequences for families and children. On 10 November, the Presidential Transition Council dismissed Prime Minister Garry Conille and appointed Alix Didier Fils-Aimé as his replacement, intensifying political instability. This upheaval coincided with escalating gang violence, particularly in Port-au-Prince. The "Viv Ansanm" coalition launched offensives in neighborhoods such as Solino and Nazon, leading to massive population displacements. In Pétion-Ville, an attack by armed groups, repelled by police and local residents, resulted in the deaths of 28 gang members.
The humanitarian consequences of these disruptions were significant. The IOM Emergency Tracking Tool (ETT) recorded over 40,000 people displaced within two weeks – the largest single displacement event since January 2023. Half of those displaced were children, many of whom had already experienced multiple displacement in the past month. Save the Children estimates that nearly one in ten children have been forcibly displaced, multiple times in the past two years.
Children face heightened risks in this escalating crisis. UNICEF estimates a 70 per cent increase in children recruited by armed groups between mid-2023 and mid-2024. Many children who refuse to join or attempt to leave armed groups face immediate threats to their safety. Those in areas not controlled by armed groups are often viewed with suspicion, risking violent reprisals from vigilante movements. For countless children, the dangers of recruitment, displacement and violence compound an already dire protection crisis.
The crisis was further exacerbated by the suspension of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) operations in Port-au-Prince due to security threats, exacerbating an already critical healthcare crisis. Armed group shootings targeting commercial flights led airlines to temporarily halt services to Haiti and forcing the closure of the international airport in Port-au-Prince. Following temporary suspensions caused by the airport closure, the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) resumed operations on 25 November, restoring a critical lifeline for aid delivery.
Reports of cholera cases persisted during November, particularly in the Artibonite department (Saint-Michel de l'Attalaye and Dessalines). While suspected cases in Dessalines dropped from 103 in late October (week 43) to 20 by the end of November (week 48), and cases in Saint-Michel de l'Attalaye fell from 21 to four, the situation remains precarious.
The cyclone season concluded without any major cyclones recorded, torrential rains in early November caused severe flooding and mudslides across the southern and northern departments, resulting in casualties, deaths and additional displacements.