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Haiti

In Haiti, HI runs health, inclusion and prevention projects to support the population in coping with the country's acute multisectoral crisis.

Villereson, 14 years old, had his left foot and right arm broken during the 2021 earthquake. Accompanied by his mother, here he participated in his 12th therapy session.

Villereson, 14 years old, had his left foot and right arm broken during the 2021 earthquake. Accompanied by his mother, here he participated in his 12th therapy session. | © G. H. Rouzier / HI

Actions in process

Since the outbreak of a major cholera epidemic at the end of 2022, HI has run a project to help contain the disease. Our teams support communities with awareness-raising activities, measures to prevent transmission of the disease and by promoting good practices. They also carry out chlorine decontamination and distribute hygiene items, such as soap and chlorine products. The programme is also working with local actors to coordinate the response to the epidemic and ensure it is inclusive.

For years, HI has been helping to develop Haiti’s rehabilitation sector by supporting health centres throughout the country. These actions were stepped up after the earthquake on 14 August 2021, and our teams are currently delivering training and skills transfer in the West, Southeast, North and Northeast of the country. HI is also seeking to obtain the global recognition for rehabilitation professionals and to strengthen the provision of care. Furthermore, in response to the upsurge in violence in since early 2024, HI launched an early trauma care service in August at MSF's Sant pou blése hospital in Port-au-Prince. HI is also working with local authorities to map existing rehabilitation services and develop a referral system.

HI is also running an economic inclusion project to enable people with disabilities to find work and earn a sustainable income. Our teams help people to define their projects and develop their activities. They also train companies to be more inclusive, in particular by making reasonable accommodations in their employees’ workspaces. Finally, HI supports organisations of people with disabilities with their national advocacy work to promote the development of a more inclusive working environment in the country.

To strengthen disaster preparedness and protection, HI is raising the awareness and training authorities and partner organisations to take the most vulnerable populations into account in their interventions. Assessments of the context and of the preparedness of the population for potential disasters are carried out, as well as simulation exercises, enabling the development of appropriate action plans. HI also works with local stakeholders to analyse weather forecasts and develop action protocols that can be applied rapidly in the event of a disaster. In all these actions, HI ensures that inclusion is at the heart of the measures adopted.

HI is also developing a logistics platform for the transport of humanitarian goods and merchandise by sailboats. This pick-up and storage service provided to other humanitarian organisations in the country is a means of ensuring the safe delivery of essential goods to the entire Haitian coast. This service is particularly useful at a time when the country is beset by an unprecedented wave of violence, with gangs closing off the roads and preventing all road transport. To develop its maritime transport service, HI is training Haitian operators and improving their navigation techniques and safety at sea.

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Situation of the country

Map of Humanity & Inclusion's interventions in Haiti

Haiti has been facing a political, economic, social and security crisis for several decades, a crisis that has worsened considerably since 2018, with an unprecedented level of violence reached in 2024.

In October 2023, the UN authorised the deployment of the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MMAS), whose first contingents arrived in June 2024. Following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who did not have a constitutional mandate, governed by decree until March 2024. Following the announcement of the deployment of the MMAS in the country, the G9 coalition of organized crime groups launched an offensive to capture the head of the Haitian National Police and issued threats of genocide against the civilian population. This event led to the temporary closure of Port-au-Prince Toussaint Louverture international airport and the resignation of Ariel Henry.

This event led to the temporary closure of Port-au-Prince international airport.

Organised crime groups, or "gangs", have taken control of more and more territory, particularly in Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital, where they now control 80% of the city. These gangs are guilty of murder, kidnapping, rape and mass killings.

By June 2024, this chaotic situation had triggered some 578,074 internal displacements to various spontaneous camps (in schools, public squares, etc.) that sprang up and disappeared according to the where the gangs were fighting for new territory.

Due to its geographical location, Haiti is also very vulnerable to natural hazards and has been hit by numerous hurricanes, floods and earthquakes in recent years. These disasters have catastrophic consequences for the population. The earthquake on 14 August 2021, for example, left almost 650,000 people in need of emergency humanitarian assistance. Forecasts for the 2024 hurricane season were worse than usual due to the La Nina weather phenomenon.

Number of HI staff: 95

Programmed opened in: 2008

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