Haiti: Escalating gang violence forces over 21,000 more children from their homes in 2 weeks

PORT-AU-PRINCE 27 November 2024 – An estimated 21,000 children in Port-au-Prince have been forced from their homes in the past two weeks due to escalating violence while gangs recruit more children into their ranks, Save the Children said.  

Since 11 November, 41,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to intensifying violence and insecurity – the highest wave of displacement since January 2023, according to the latest International Organization for Migration (IOM) figures.  

About 52% - or more than 21,000 – are estimated to be children, many of whom have been forced to move multiple times in the past two years. Nearly one in 10 children in Haiti have now been forced from the homes.

Gang violence has displaced more than 700,000 people – about 365,000 children –, forcing many to seek refuge in overcrowded schools repurposed as shelters or with host families, often with little to no access to clean water, food, or healthcare.

This latest wave of violence comes as the number of children in Haiti recruited by gangs has soared by 70% in the last year, according to the UN.  Many of these children have been forced to join gangs, while others have joined as a means of survival.  

The violence and safety concerns have restricted access to deliver aid, caused prices to soar, and left families unable to access nutritious food and drinking water. As a result, hunger levels have skyrocketed across Haiti, particularly in the metro area, with one in six children now on the brink of famine-like conditions.

Amid rising hunger and violence, Save the Children teams have received reports of children joining violent gangs out of desperation for food and a sense of protection. Some children have been forced to kill, kidnap, and loot simply to survive.

Chantal Sylvie Imbeault, Save the Children’s Country Director in Haiti, said: 
“Once again, children in Haiti are paying the highest price for another escalation of violence. There is no safe place in Port-au-Prince for children, and the situation is changing by the day. All children in the capital are in grave danger of physical harm, severe emotional distress, and displacement.  

“Delivering aid to families living under the siege of gangs is becoming increasingly impossible for humanitarian organisations as gangs now control all the main roads in and out of the capital. Operating costs have skyrocketed, and little aid is getting into the country. We are simply unable to do our job effectively.

“The only way to truly protect children’s lives is to halt this violence and for all parties to do everything in their power to de-escalate the situation immediately and ensure life-saving humanitarian assistance reaches those in need without delay”

The deaths and injuries from the latest violence, which began on 11 November, bring the verified casualty toll of the gang violence so far this year to over 4,500 dead and over 2,000 injured. However, the real toll is likely much higher.  

Save the Children is calling for full, unfettered access for aid workers and life-saving supplies across Haiti, especially in Port au Prince, to combat hunger and severe acute malnutrition and for all parties to do their utmost to protect children. The child rights organisation is also calling on the international community to urgently increase humanitarian funding for Haiti.  

Save the Children is providing cash assistance for displaced families in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince living in schools-turned-shelters to find more dignified housing solutions while helping to free up schools to resume educational activities, and cash assistance to host families in the Grand’Anse and South department. The child rights organisation is also working through local partners in Haiti’s West, Grand’Anse and South departments to provide access to quality education and psychosocial support to students.

ENDS

Notes to Editor: 
•    According to the IOM, 41,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to intensifying violence and insecurity since November 11, 2024. Displacement trends observed over the past two years within IDP structures have consistently shown that 52% of the displaced population are children. Based on Save the Children’s analysis of IOM data, this equates to an estimated 21,300 children displaced since November 11.