Violence and lawlessness have reached terrifying levels in Haiti. Around 185,000 people are displaced in the Metropolitan Area of Port-au-Prince – two thirds of them living in spontaneous sites with very limited access to basic services. Haiti's hunger crisis is also escalating rapidly. Nearly 5 million people – almost half of the country’s population – are now facing acute food insecurity and struggling to feed themselves.

Women and girls are enduring relentless waves of brutal violence, including rape and gang rape, as gangs vie for control of the capital. The lack of protection services and support increases the trauma for women and girls; most services for survivors of sexual violence are only slowly resuming through mobile clinics supported by UNFPA in displacement sites.

The health system has not escaped unscathed. Health facilities and hospitals have been forced to close in Port-au-Prince, medicines are in short supply and facilities lack staff – around 40 percent of Haiti's medical personnel have left the country due to the insecurity. Accessing facilities that remain open is almost impossible due to the turmoil, leaving an estimated 3,000 pregnant women in the capital struggling to access maternal health care.

To ensure that reproductive health and protection services continue, UNFPA is distributing essential medical supplies for maternal health and protection-service provision to health facilities and hospitals that remain operational. Mobile clinics have been deployed to displacement sites to provide reproductive health services and support to prevent and respond to violence, and a hotline and safe spaces are providing medical and psychosocial support to women and girls. Essential hygiene items, including sanitary pads, have been distributed in displacement sites.

Despite the soaring needs, funding for protection for women and girls is woefully inadequate. In 2024, UNFPA is appealing for $28 million to respond to humanitarian needs to ensure that women and girls and survivors of violence can access the reproductive health and protection support they need.
 

Updated on 25 June 2024