Malnutrition, violence stalk Haiti’s children (2024)

Overrun by heavily armed gangs that rape, pillage and murder with impunity, Haiti is a country without law and order.

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It is not an exaggeration to say that Haiti is a failed state where human security simply does not exist. Foreigners with the means to do so are fleeing the country, seeking safe haven in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

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Earlier this week Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly announced that Canada had begun facilitating “small-scale departure options for vulnerable Canadian citizens.” For example, Canada facilitated six flights on March 26 and eight flights on March 27, assisting at total of 82 Canadian citizens to escape the violence of Haiti for the safety of the Dominican Republic.

However, for the children of Haiti, there is no escape from the violence and the resultant humanitarian crises, including food insecurity and a lack of health-care services.

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Food insecurity

According to a situation report issued by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), gang violence in Haiti has driven “nearly five million people (half the population) into high levels of acute food insecurity. The IPC projection update, covering March to June 2024, also reveals that the violence has internally displaced 362,000 people.

“The current update shows a stark deterioration of food security in Haiti, with 532,000 additional people experiencing acute food insecurity compared to previous estimates for this season,” the latest IPC report states. Approximately 4.97 million people are enduring high levels of acute food insecurity for the period March to June 2024.

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“The key drivers to this deterioration are increased gang violence, rising prices, low agricultural production due to below-normal rainfall, and the lack of previously planned humanitarian aid,” the IPC report states.

Children at risk

According to UNICEF, “the alarming surge in armed violence in areas of Haiti is creating heightened risk of furthering a malnutrition crisis in the country.” The United Nations children’s agency warned in a March 26 statement that the violence and instability are generating a child health and nutrition crisis that could “cost the lives of countless children.”

UNICEF reports that the lack of law and order in the capital city of Port-au-Prince is preventing the delivery of health and nutrition supplies to approximately 58,000 children who are suffering from severe wasting in the metropolitan area. Moreover, the main road from Port-au-Prince to the southern part of Haiti is blocked; UNICEF estimates 15,000 children are cut off from assistance and “suffering from malnutrition at the brink of disaster.”

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In addition, the security crisis has left less than half of Haiti’s hospitals operational. “Meanwhile, only one in four health facilities are functioning in the Artibonite department, the nation’s main rice-growing region,” UNICEF repots.

According to an emergency situation report issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), “the prevailing violence and insecurity that has been affecting Port-au-Prince since 29 February is continuing to severely disrupt aid operations, both for UN humanitarian agencies and NGOs,” the March 23 report reads. For example, roadblocks prevented the World Food Program from delivering a total of 18,800 hot meals in Port-au-Prince over a three-day period during the third week of March.

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In addition, gang violence is preventing humanitarian workers from administering routine vaccinations in Port-au-Prince, leaving the civilian population vulnerable to preventable diseases. “In the few health facilities that remain open, the demand for vaccination services has increased following the arrival of displaced children,” the OCHA report reads. While all health departments across Haiti reportedly have enough vaccine doses to last until the end of April, OCHA warns that vaccine stocks “could begin to run out by the beginning of May if the security situation does not improve as it may not be possible to send vaccines from Port-au-Prince.”

“In Artibonite (Saint Michel) and the Nord-Est departments, there has been a slight increase in cholera cases,” OCHA reports. “Response activities remain inadequate due to the absence of partners in the field and the inability to replenish stocks in the departments due to the ongoing insecurity.”

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Children victimized 

“What breaks my heart is that every time we have a crisis like this, children are the victims that suffer and don’t seem to have a voice,” said Julie Lee, Caribbean Cluster Director for World Vision, a non-governmental humanitarian organization that provides development assistance around the world while advocating for children and families. Lee spoke to the Whig-Standard, via WhatsApp, in a March 21 interview from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Just the day before, Lee had been in violence-plagued Port-au-Prince.

“Children are definitely victims,” Lee said. “What I have seen is that a lot of the gangs, when they go into communities and they terrorize communities, they don’t distinguish between adults and children. And that is what alarms us. Children find themselves in the crossfire. And they are also victims of direct abuse and direct attacks themselves, especially when gangs start entering into residential areas,” she explained.

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“The worst thing is, whenever these attacks occur, women and children are the ones that are most vulnerable. Rape is definitely guaranteed for women. And it breaks my heart, but a lot of children in these situations are forced to witness that.”

Rising food prices

Do families have access to sufficient food and safe water?

“That is a great question. And that is a very difficult one to answer,” Lee replied. “Haiti relies heavily on food imports to feed the population. When gangs control major transportation hubs, and they repeatedly attack ports, and the border of the Dominican Republic is closed, that means the food supply runs short very quickly. We’re starting to see food shortages, and that translates into extremely high food prices.”

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In addition, Lee said that because gangs control most of the roads, resupplying markets has become “very difficult.” Moreover, “people are afraid to venture out of their homes even to purchase food.”

World Vision is also concerned about access to safe water. “A few weeks ago, we started hearing rumours for those living in the capital about a drinking water shortage,” Lee said. “Whether or not the supplies are really running low, the fear is mounting.”

Education

Are most children in Haiti able to go to school during this crisis?

“In Port-au-Prince, access to schools is extremely difficult,” Lee answered. “Many schools have closed their doors. Schools that are more capable are able to do online courses.” However, constant gang attacks and violence have created “a traumatic situation for children, so their learning effectiveness has really dropped.”

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Meanwhile, many schools in Haiti lack the capability to offer online learning to students, Lee said. “In Port-au-Prince, there is a large majority of children who may not be able to go to school. Once schools shut down, they don’t even have the online education option.”

However, in other parts of Haiti, “it seems like life goes on, business as usual,” Lee said. And World Vision’s work outside of Port-au-Prince also continues. “We have not seen situations of violence in these areas where we operate,” Lee said. “School access, water access, food access are more stable in these locations.”

Action plan

What needs to happen in order for families and children to be safe and healthy in Port-au-Prince, specifically, and Haiti, in general?

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“That is a great question,” Lee said, before enumerating a list of recommendations. For example, she said that stakeholders — non-governmental organizations, United Nations agencies, government, civil society — “need to come together and identify an immediate, timely and solidarity driven approach.”

In addition, Lee said that a “safe humanitarian corridor” needs to be established. “We need to find a way to deliver the much-needed food, water, protection services, psycho-social support, education and so on and so forth to those that are most in need, especially families and children that have been displaced.”

Finally, Lee stressed the imperative of providing child protection services as well as protection services for women who are victims of gender-based violence.

Follow Geoffrey P. Johnston on Mastodon @GeoffyPJohnston@c.im.

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