Haiti Faces Record Displacement as Millions of Children Forced to Flee
An alarming 3.3 million children in Haiti, the highest number ever recorded, are now in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. Rising violence, hunger, and displacement have plunged the country’s children into a deepening crisis marked by fear, deprivation, and uncertainty.
UNICEF reports that armed gangs now control more than 85% of Port-au-Prince, cutting families off from food, healthcare, and education.
The scale of displacement is described as unprecedented, with over 246 refugee sites established in the first half of this year alone. More than 2.7 million people, including 1.6 million women and children, live under gang control.
For Haiti’s children, every day is a struggle for survival. Schools, once symbols of hope and stability, have turned into shelters and battlegrounds.
Over 1,600 schools have been forced to close, while 25 are now occupied by gangs, robbing thousands of children of their right to learn and dream. Even in functioning schools, the financial burden of textbooks and uniforms remains a barrier for many families, as only 15–20% of schools are public.
Despite these challenges, UNICEF continues to respond on the front lines, treating 86,000 children suffering from wasting, a life-threatening form of malnutrition, and delivering healthcare, safe water, and nutrition support to thousands more.
However, with resources running low, the agency warns that critical aid efforts are at risk of collapsing without immediate global support.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell sounded a clear call to action: “The children of Haiti cannot wait. Like every child, they deserve a chance to be safe, healthy, and to live in peace. It is up to us to take action for Haiti’s children now.”
This crisis strikes at the very heart of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, violating the most fundamental protections every child is entitled to, the right to life, survival, development, education, and protection from violence and exploitation.
Haiti’s children deserve more than survival; they deserve the chance to thrive, to learn without fear, to grow in safety, and to live with dignity.
