Report: More than one million children in Haiti are experiencing severe food insecurity due to escalating violence, mass displacement, and limited access to humanitarian assistance, according to a statement released Thursday by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Geeta Narayan, UNICEF’s representative in Haiti, warned that the country is facing a dire situation in which families are no longer able to provide basic care and nutrition for their children due to ongoing armed conflict, deepening poverty, and a long-running economic crisis.
"Most families are trapped in a nutrition emergency driven by violence and instability," the agency said.
Since the beginning of 2025, UNICEF and its partner organizations have treated more than 4,600 children for severe acute malnutrition. However, this number represents just 3.6 percent of the estimated 129,000 children who will require urgent nutritional support this year.
Data from the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) shows that roughly 2.9 million Haitian children — nearly one in four — are living with persistent and dangerously high levels of food insecurity.
Worsening violence has also severely impacted healthcare access, further endangering children's lives by limiting the availability of essential treatments and increasing vulnerability to disease and malnutrition. In Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, fewer than half of health facilities are fully operational, and two of the city’s three major public hospitals have ceased functioning entirely.
UNICEF also raised concerns over major funding gaps. The organization’s nutrition program is part of its broader Humanitarian Action for Children appeal, which is currently facing a 70 percent shortfall in the funding it needs to respond effectively to the crisis.
