Haiti Nears Famine Amid Gang Rule and Economic Crash

Haiti is sliding deeper into humanitarian emergency, with more than half of its 11 million people struggling to eat as armed groups expand control and the economy contracts for a sixth straight year.

A new assessment from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) estimates 5.7 million Haitians face severe food insecurity. Nearly 1.9 million are in Emergency (Phase 4)—confronting extreme shortages and acute malnutrition, while another 3.8 million are in Crisis (Phase 3).

The IPC warns conditions could worsen through mid-2026, approaching six million people in acute hunger as the lean season sets in.

Haiti’s transitional authorities have announced a Food and Nutrition Security Office to coordinate aid. “We are mobilizing resources to reach those most affected as quickly as possible,” said Louis Gérald Gilles of the presidential council.

But access remains perilous: armed groups control an estimated 90% of Port-au-Prince and are pushing into rural breadbaskets, disrupting planting and distribution.

Violence has displaced more than 1.3 million people, up 24% since December, many crowded into shelters with scant food, water, or sanitation. Farmers who remain often pay gangs in cash or crops to work their land, while roadblocks choke supply lines to markets. Inflation compounds the strain: food prices rose 33% year-on-year in July.

Children bear the brunt. Roughly 680,000 have been displaced; more than 1,000 schools are closed, and armed groups have recruited minors, aid agencies say.

The United Nations has authorized a 5,550-member international mission to help restore order, but insecurity and funding gaps continue to blunt relief. “Progress remains fragile without long-term investment to tackle the root causes,” said Martine Villeneuve, Haiti director at Action Against Hunger.

For now, aid groups are racing to deliver assistance amid shrinking access, soaring needs, and a volatile security landscape that shows little sign of stabilizing.