Country: Haiti Source: United Nations Population Fund Please refer to the attached file. Highlights The Artibonite, Centre departments as well as the Metropolitan zone of Port-au-Prince in Haiti continue to be significantly impacted by gang violence. Houses have been burned and there is an increase in kidnappings and robberies. Some 1. 4 million people have been forced to flee their homes and thousands more have died. Despite the security constraints, UNFPA and its implementing partners continue to provide sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and gender-based violence (GBV) services. In the first quarter of 2026, UNFPA reached 7, 470 people with SRH services and 5, 580 people with GBV prevention and response activities. A total of 2, 792 dignity kits were also distributed to displaced women and adolescent girls, as well as 100 inter-agency reproductive health (IARH) kits provided to health facilities and non-governmental organizations to meet the needs of 5, 489 people. UNFPA is appealing for US$32. 8 million to strengthen and expand access to lifesaving SRH and GBV services in Haiti in 2026. As of March 2026, the total amount received was US$1. 8 million, representing only 5. 5% of the required funding. With needs escalating in Haiti, additional funding is urgently required to ensure critical health and protection services for women and girls. Situation Overview Since January 2026, gang violence has intensified in several areas of the Metropolitan Zone of Port-au-Prince as well as in Artibonite and Centre departments. Armed groups continue to terrorize the population through killings, kidnappings, child trafficking, demands for payment at illegal checkpoints, extorting money from local businesses, and the destruction and looting of both public and private properties. On 25 March 2026, armed attacks in the municipalities of Verrettes and Petite Rivière in the Artibonite department caused the displacement of 2, 010 individuals from 470 households. The vast majority (96%) found refuge with host families, while the remaining 4% relocated to a new displacement site that was established following the incidents. In the Centre department, violence in Boucan-Carré displaced approximately 4, 761 people from 1, 035 households. Just over half (54%) settled across 12 newly established sites, while the remainder found refuge with host families. UNFPA and its implementing partners have mobilized to respond to the urgent SRH and GBV needs of the population in these affected areas. However, humanitarian access and logistical constraints continue to hinder rapid response efforts and the delivery of supplies beyond Port-au-Prince. Expanding gang control over key road and maritime routes has further delayed project implementation and response activities. During a field mission to Haiti from 18 to 24 March 2026, Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy at OCHA, visited an SRH and GBV centre managed by UNFPA, as well as UNFPA-supported women’s and girls’ safe space within the EFACAP displacement site in Hinche. She called for increased financial support from donors, emphasizing that sustained, collective investment is vital to maintain essential community health services and save lives.
UNFPA Haiti: Displacement from Hurricane Melissa and escalation in gang violence (1 January – 31 March 2026)
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