Toronto, June 11, 2025 – About one in six children in Haiti are now internally displaced due to armed violence following a 24% increase in the number of people forced from their homes in the past six months, Save the Children said.
An analysis of the latest displacement figures showed that nearly 700,000 children are now displaced in Haiti. The total number of internally displaced people has reached nearly 1.3 million, or about one in nine people in the country, since December 2024, an all-time high in numbers displaced by violence, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Displaced children and their families are living in overcrowded schools-turned-shelters, often without adequate clean water, food, or protection.
It has been 15 months since Haiti declared a state of emergency in March 2024 due to escalating violence and lawlessness in the country, particularly in Port-au-Prince, where armed groups have seized control of all major roads into and leading out of the city. Armed groups also now control the city of Mirebalais in Haiti’s Plateau Central department. Save the Children is warning that this surge in displacement could push more children into the hands of armed groups, being caught in the crossfire with police, or at greater risk of abuse and exploitation.
Chantal Sylvie Imbeault, Save the Children’s Country Director in Haiti, said:
“Children in Haiti are currently living in a nightmare they can’t escape. One in six children have been forced from their homes and the comfort of their beds. Many are living in overcrowded camps, where aid is limited, and the dangers of sexual violence, abuse, and recruitment by armed groups are rampant. Right now, children across Haiti need safety, protection, and access to child-friendly services. The world needs to wake up and see what’s unfolding in the country.”
The only way to truly protect children’s lives is to halt this violence and for all parties to do everything in their power to de-escalate the situation immediately, said Save the Children. Life-saving humanitarian assistance and aid workers must be allowed to reach those in need without delay, and the international community must urgently increase humanitarian funding for Haiti.
Save the Children has provided cash assistance for displaced families in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince living in schools-turned-shelters to find more dignified housing solutions while helping to free up schools to resume educational activities, and cash assistance to host families in the Grand’Anse, South and North East department. The child rights organisation is also working through local partners in Haiti’s West, Grand’Anse, and South departments to provide access to quality education and psychosocial support to students.
Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1978, in both urban and rural communities.
ENDS
Notes to Editor:
· According to a recently published Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 1.3 million people are now internally displaced in Haiti, a 24% increase since December 2024. About 53% of internally displaced people are estimated to be children; this equals nearly 700,000, or about one in six children in the country. The child population of Haiti is estimated to be about 4.3 million
Media Contact
For additional information please contact Julie Marshall, Senior Manager, Media:
About Save the Children
Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In Canada and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.