Haiti children face critical food crisis as violence worsens

UNICEF warns over one million Haitian children at risk due to hunger, displacement, and collapsed health services.

Children play in a newly opened shelter in the Meyotte neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on April 12, 2025, after families were displaced by gang violence in another part of the city. Photo by Clarens Siffroy/AFP

By Anna Fadiah and Hayu Andini

As gang violence and economic collapse continue to ravage Haiti, the most vulnerable—its children—are bearing the brunt of a deepening humanitarian disaster. According to UNICEF, more than one million children are now caught in a Haiti children food crisis, facing severe hunger, displacement, and limited access to essential medical care. The UN children's agency delivered a stark warning on Thursday, calling the situation “critical” and worsening by the day.

Widespread hunger, driven by chaos and violence

The crisis in Haiti is no longer just a political or security issue—it’s a full-scale humanitarian emergency. In a statement issued by UNICEF, Geeta Narayan, the agency’s representative in Haiti, outlined the deteriorating conditions affecting families across the country. “We are looking at a scenario where parents can no longer provide care and nutrition to their children as a result of ongoing violence, extreme poverty, and a persistent economic crisis,” she said.

Armed gangs have essentially seized control of much of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, turning Haiti’s capital into a battleground. This has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, often with nothing but the clothes on their backs. In this lawless environment, food deliveries, health services, and aid convoys are frequently interrupted or outright blocked.

As a result, UNICEF warns, child hunger in Haiti has surged to emergency levels.

More than one in four Haitian children are hungry

The numbers paint a grim picture. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)—a global standard used to evaluate food security—around 2.9 million children in Haiti are facing high levels of food insecurity. That amounts to roughly one in every four children in the country.

In just the first few months of 2025, UNICEF and its partners have treated more than 4,600 children for severe acute malnutrition. While that might sound significant, it’s only 3.6 percent of the 129,000 children expected to need urgent nutritional care this year.

These figures are more than statistics—they reflect the daily reality of families scouring dangerous streets for food, mothers rationing water for their children, and infants crying through the night from hunger.

Collapsing health system adds to the crisis

The Haitian malnutrition crisis is further compounded by the collapse of the public health system. In Port-au-Prince, less than half of health facilities are currently operational. Two out of the three main public hospitals in the capital are completely out of service. This means that even when children are brought in with symptoms of malnutrition or disease, the help they need simply isn’t there.

“Violence is also increasingly cutting off access to health care, including life-saving treatments,” UNICEF noted, “putting children at greater risk of various forms of malnutrition and preventable disease.”

From measles to diarrhea, preventable illnesses are making a deadly comeback due to the lack of vaccination campaigns and safe drinking water. Clinics that once provided basic care are now abandoned, looted, or inaccessible due to the presence of armed groups.

Aid organizations facing massive funding gaps

Even as the crisis deepens, the global response remains limited. UNICEF’s nutrition programs in Haiti are part of its broader Humanitarian Action for Children appeal. But right now, that appeal is missing 70 percent of the funds it needs. Aid workers say this is hampering their ability to scale up efforts to feed children, provide clean water, or distribute medical supplies.

“Just as needs intensify, the response is increasingly constrained by funding shortfalls,” UNICEF emphasized.

In other words, while the number of children affected by hunger and violence rises, the international community is falling short of what’s needed to help them.

Displacement and hunger: a deadly combination

The connection between forced displacement and rising hunger cannot be overstated. Families pushed from their homes often end up in overcrowded shelters, makeshift camps, or even on the streets. These living conditions are unsafe and unsanitary. Without kitchens, refrigerators, or clean water, families are unable to prepare nutritious meals even when food is available.

Children, especially those under five, are at the highest risk. Malnutrition in early childhood has long-term consequences, including stunted growth, weakened immune systems, and poor cognitive development.

The UNICEF Haiti food emergency is not just about saving lives in the short term. It’s about preventing an entire generation from suffering irreversible harm due to a crisis they did not cause.

The long road ahead

Solving the Haiti children food crisis will take more than emergency feeding programs. It requires restoring stability and governance in a country where public institutions have nearly collapsed. It also requires sustained international engagement and funding—not just for food and medical supplies, but for education, infrastructure, and economic recovery.

For now, however, the priority remains clear: saving lives. That means reaching children with life-saving nutrition, clean water, and medical care as quickly and efficiently as possible. It also means opening humanitarian corridors through gang-controlled territories, ensuring aid can flow freely without threats of violence.

But most importantly, it means remembering the human faces behind these statistics—the toddlers who go to sleep hungry, the mothers skipping meals to feed their babies, and the children watching their futures crumble before they even get a chance to begin.

A call for global attention

Haiti’s story may not dominate international headlines every day, but what is happening there deserves global attention. It is not only a tragedy but also a test of global solidarity. In a world where resources exist to solve hunger, no child should have to suffer like this.

UNICEF continues to call for urgent funding, stronger international commitment, and coordinated action to prevent this humanitarian crisis from spiraling further out of control. Without a significant boost in support, more children will fall through the cracks.

And for a country already burdened by decades of instability, natural disasters, and neglect, the loss of an entire generation could be the most devastating blow of all.