UN says more than a million people displaced in Haiti

UNITED NATIONS (CMC) — The United Nations (UN) says nearly 1.5 million people in Haiti had been displaced as of May this year, with 95,000 newly displaced between December last year and May.

UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq said the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that violence in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area has pushed the number of displaced people there to more than 300,000 for the first time.

“And that’s primarily due to armed clashes in the neighbourhood of Cite Soleil in March and also in May. Fighting is also driving continued displacement in Artibonite department. Overall, nearly 80 per cent of displaced people are outside the capital,” Haq told reporters.

According to the IOM, there has also been a sharp rise in the number of people returning to their communities. More than 165,000 people have returned to their areas of origin, compared with just over 87,500 returnees recorded in December.

“Many families report that conditions are not yet in place for them to sustainably reintegrate back into their communities of origin. Across Haiti, the vast majority of displaced people are hosted by families or living in precarious conditions, straining already vulnerable communities,” Haq said.

He noted that food, livelihoods, shelter, water and sanitation, and access to healthcare remain the most urgent needs for both displaced people and returnees.

Despite security challenges, access constraints and funding shortages, humanitarian agencies continue to provide assistance, Haq said.

“A scale-up of the response is critical, given growing needs, but the US$880 million humanitarian response plan for Haiti is just under 23 per cent funded, with US$198.7 million in the bank,” he said.

Haiti has faced worsening socio-economic and political instability since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. The French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) nation is seeking to hold elections this year, with the last national elections having taken place in November 2016.