Haiti: 21,000 children displaced in 2 weeks as gang violence intensifies

Since 11 November, 41,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to intensifying violence and insecurity in Haiti's capital, the IOM has said.

Rights group Save the Children estimates about 52% - or more than 21,000 – are children, many of whom have been forced to move multiple times in the past two years.

This is highest wave of displacement since January 2023, according to the latest International Organization for Migration (IOM) figures.

It has forced many children to seek refuge in overcrowded schools repurposed as shelters or with host families, often with little to no access to clean water, food, or healthcare.

Save the Children called Wednesday (Nov. 27) for full, unfettered access for aid workers and life-saving supplies across Haiti, especially in Port au Prince, to combat hunger and severe acute malnutrition and for all parties to do their utmost to protect children.

The latest wave of violence driving displacement comes as the number of children in Haiti recruited by gangs has soared by 70% in the last year, according to the UN.

Many of these children have been forced to join gangs, while others have joined as a means of survival.

Violence has exploded in the capital after Haiti fired and replaced its interim prime minister amid political infighting and corruption allegations against members of a transitional council created to restore democratic order to Haiti.

The U.N. estimates that gangs control 85% of the city. A Kenya-led police mission has failed to change the balance of power on the ground.