UN Relief Chief Urges Greater Support for Crisis-Hit Haiti

A woman washes clothes at a site for displaced people in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Gang violence, hunger, and instability continue to roil Haiti, as the UN relief chief declared on Wednesday that “we have to do better” to help families struggling to survive amid an alarming shortage of humanitarian funding.

“I’m ashamed on behalf of the world that we cannot find it in ourselves to be more compassionate, to be more kind, to recognise what people here are going through,” said Tom Fletcher, who heads the UN emergency relief agency OCHA, during a visit to the Caribbean nation.

“I listened to people whose lives have been destroyed by brutal violence,” he said. “They are desperate for security, dignity, hope. I refuse to believe we cannot do better for them.”

Haiti, with a population of 11 million, faces a severe humanitarian and protection crisis amid a cholera outbreak and rising malnutrition rates. Half the population faces food insecurity, while forced displacement has reached unprecedented levels, tripling last year to over one million people. Large-scale displacements have continued into 2025, according to OCHA.

For over a year, gangs have taken control of vast areas in and around Port-au-Prince, raping, killing, looting civilian infrastructure, and kidnapping children to serve as recruits. OCHA estimates that up to half of all armed group members are children.

“Fear permeates daily life,” the agency stated. Families are repeatedly forced from their homes, often finding only overcrowded makeshift shelters.

“They don’t want to be here. They want to rebuild their lives. They want education for their children, healthcare, and clean water,” Fletcher said after meeting displaced families.

Roudy Jean, a displaced father, said, “We need to be able to live in a normal way, like in the rest of the world.”

Cashmina Jean-Michel, once the owner of a beauty salon, lost her livelihood in gunfire. “I lost everything, but the safety of my children was my absolute priority. Today, I live in a cramped space in misery, with only one of my children while the others stay with friends.”

Internally displaced people face severe shortages. Innocent Fagneau, vice-president of one displacement site, said food runs out quickly: “We finish by noon, but what about the rest of the day? People should still be able to eat something.”

The OCCED’H youth centre in Port-au-Prince offers hope, providing nearly 300 students with vocational training, from leather crafting to motorbike repair.

“We can see that people can build back their communities as well, not just as individuals, but as Haiti,” Fletcher said. “That’s why the world must be here, helping them to rebuild from despair and ruins.”

Despite these efforts, humanitarian funding remains dangerously low. Of the $908 million required for urgent needs, only 11 per cent has been funded, leaving an $800 million gap.

“This is not enough,” Fletcher warned. “I can’t believe we are struggling so much to raise the funds necessary to support these families as they try to rebuild their lives. We have to do better.”