The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Jan. 14 that more than 1 million Haitians are now displaced, three times the number of 315,000 reported for 2023. One-half of that number, or one in eight, are children.
Growing gang violence, particularly in the capital of Port-au-Prince, accounts for the increased displacement, and has forced more citizens to seek refuge in other parts of the country where safety conditions are marginally better but social services and housing accommodations are severely stretched. Displacement sites set up in the capital lack food, medicine and clean water to meet humanitarian needs and the often-underfunded IOM, UNICEF, World Food Program and others struggle to provide these vital services.