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More than 1.4 million people, with nearly half being women and children, have been forced to leave their homes due to gang violence in Haiti, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on Wednesday.
This figure signifies a 36-per cent rise since the conclusion of 2024 and marks “the highest number ever documented in the country,” according to a statement from the UN agency.
“The severity of this crisis demands increased and sustained response,” said Gregoire Goodstein, IOM‘s Chief of Mission in Haiti. “The generosity of Haitian communities hosting displaced people must be matched by renewed international support.”
Haiti has long endured the impact of violent criminal gangs that engage in murders, rapes, looting, and kidnappings amidst persistent political instability.
The condition has significantly worsened since early 2024, when a coordinated offensive by gangs ultimately led to the resignation of then-prime minister Ariel Henry.
Having not held elections since 2016, the country is currently governed by a transitional presidential council.
The IOM warned that the crisis is expanding well beyond the capital, where gangs have dominated extensive areas for years, with 64 per cent of recent displacements occurring outside of Port-au-Prince—many in the Centre and Artibonite departments.
Current displacement sites are overcrowded, and the repatriation of over 200,000 Haitians from the neighbouring Dominican Republic this year has put additional pressure on local communities hosting displaced individuals, according to the UN agency.
