Haiti

Haiti is in the midst of a humanitarian catastrophe, as nearly half of the population – 5.5 million people – need humanitarian assistance and protection. From upsurges in violence, political instability, economic and climate shocks to hunger and poverty, the multiple crises are taking an unacceptably heavy toll on women and girls.

Extreme violence continues to grip the capital Port-au-Prince – now thought to be 80 per cent controlled by gangs – and has spread across the country, killing some 4,000 people last year and displacing an estimated 300,000. Outbreaks of cholera are posing a threat to the well-being of thousands of people across all ten Departments in Haiti, many of whom lack access to clean drinking water, sanitation facilities and basic health care.  

Amid these crises, more than 150,000 women and girls have been forced to flee their homes and are living in makeshift shelters without access to basic services, leaving them vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse. Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and girls are struggling to access services that are critical to their health and survival, as Haiti’s health-care system teeters on the brink of collapse. Hospitals and facilities have neither the capacity nor supplies to treat patients; some have also been attacked and forced to suspend services.

As security permits, UNFPA is working with local partners to provide reproductive health and gender-based violence response services through mobile clinics, women’s and girls’ safe spaces, outreach teams and by deploying trained midwives. This includes psychosocial support and referrals for survivors of violence, clinical management of rape, and distributing supplies of medicine and equipment to facilities inside and outside the capital.