The ongoing gang violence in Haiti is having a devastating impact on women and girls as food insecurity reaches alarming levels. The UN estimates that over 4 million people are suffering from acute hunger, with 1.4 million facing emergency levels of hunger and requiring urgent assistance to survive.
Angeline Annesteus, Country Director of ActionAid in Haiti, said:
Amid the dire situation, ActionAid Haiti has seen women and girls further pushed to the brink of survival both in rural and peri-urban communities where we work. Women and girls are particularly affected by the increase in food insecurity. We have received reports of people skipping meals, selling their possessions for food, and facing heightened risks of exploitation just to put food on the table.
Everywhere you go, there are desperate mothers who have nothing to feed their children. This cannot be our future. The world needs to act now to stop the violence and provide urgent humanitarian assistance.
Over the past two months, an escalation in violence has disrupted daily economic activity and led to gross violations of basic human rights, resulting in the displacement of thousands of families. Shortages of economic empowerment activities due to the tight control of the gangs on markets is worsening the plight of women, especially those who are heads of households, like Sara, who lives in the Grand’Anse region of Haiti. She shared with us:
Gang violence has left us destitute. Because of the blockade of the roads that cut Port-au-Prince off from the southern regions, I am no longer able to buy products in Grand’Anse to sell in Port-au-Prince. My small business collapsed, and now I must use other coping mechanisms, like harvesting unripe crops, to survive.
Lovena, also a mother of two, shared:
Our lives are miserable. With the increase in food prices and the loss of my gardens due to drought, I often find myself with only a piece of bread and water to eat, and sometimes nothing at all in a day. The lack of access to food has severely affected the condition of my children, who suffer from malnutrition.
The impacts of food insecurity
Of the 4 million people grappling with acute food insecurity, women and girls make up over half of this vulnerable population, underscoring the disproportionate impact of the crisis on their wellbeing and livelihoods.
The food crisis not only deepens existing gender disparities but also amplifies the vulnerability of women and girls, compelling them to resort to detrimental coping strategies while heightening their exposure to various forms of violence, abuse, and exploitation. This dire situation urgently needs comprehensive interventions that address both immediate food insecurity and the underlying socio-economic factors perpetuating gender inequality.
Angeline Annesteus explains:
In communities affected by gang activities, people, especially women, are restricted in their movements, forcing them to stay indoors, thus limiting their ability to access markets [for food], schools, and essential services. This has created a vicious cycle – limited mobility leads to increased dependence on others for basic needs, further exposing them to the risk of violence and abuse.
We know there is a link between gang violence, the restriction of movement for women, and lack of access to basic items, like food. That’s why ActionAid is exploring ways to strengthen localized food systems and support women leaders in disaster preparedness.
Despite the current difficulties, women who we partner with have shown resilience in helping communities to cope. They have been mobilizing grassroots organizations to mitigate and respond to not only the immediate impacts, but also address the underlying drivers of this triple political, security, and socio-economic crisis.
In 2023, ActionAid forged a partnership with two local radio stations in Haiti, strategically selected for their commitment to empowering women through broadcasted shows. These shows, produced by only women, serve as a platform for educating listeners on civic engagement, political leadership, and local development. Through this collaboration, young girls are equipped with essential knowledge to address the systemic challenges hindering Haitian women’s political and economic rights.
Additionally, ActionAid aims to build the capacity of women to lead in disaster response efforts and meet the specific needs of women and girls in times of crisis, ultimately reducing the dependence of women on others for support and mitigating the potential of abuses and exploitation during emergency response.
ActionAid’s efforts to build food independence and empower smallholder farmers
Often overlooked but critical drivers behind the ongoing crisis in Haiti are its heavy dependence on food imports, coming in at a staggering 80% and the country’s colonial history of extractive large-scale plantation agriculture, which has leached the soil of its rich nutrients. This is mostly due to Haiti’s lack of self-determination and self-sufficiency in regard to their food system.
That’s why ActionAid is collaborating with smallholder farmers, especially women, to fund, promote, and advocate for sustainable agricultural practices (like agroecology) that mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis and contribute to food independence in Haiti.
In Grand’Anse, ActionAid has distributed locally adapted seeds and provided agroecological trainings to families and women farmers. Many of them are currently harvesting, allowing them to generate income, and ensure that food is available for their families in the upcoming months. These initiatives, coupled with an agriculture-based insurance project, contribute to the resilience and lasting impact in the life of smallholders.
So far this year, almost 3,000 smallholder farmers participated in an agriculture-based insurance project, which protected them from paying back their crops that were lost and affected by unseasonably heavy rains.
Scaling up to scale out of this crisis
In addition to this ongoing work on the ground, ActionAid is calling for an urgent cessation of all violence to pave the way for a return to the rule of law. We are also pressuring the international community to continue to increase humanitarian assistance to meet the basic needs of food, clean water, sanitation, and women’s hygiene.
Sara Almer, Humanitarian Director at ActionAid International, said:
“Haiti’s people are caught in a web of despair – juggling between trying to survive gang violence and providing food and other basic needs for their families. The country is faced with acute malnutrition that is estimated to affect nearly 277,000 children under the age of 5 between December 2023 and November 2024.
With immediate action and scaling up of desperately needed humanitarian assistance to enable organizations on the ground scaling up their work we can help alleviate this suffering and also support the vital work of women’s and young people’s organizations on the frontline of the crisis in addressing the root causes of poverty and inequality.”
