“I’m ashamed on behalf of the world that we cannot find it in ourselves to be more compassionate, to be more kind, to recognise what people here are going through,” said Tom Fletcher, who heads the UN emergency relief agency, OCHA, during a visit to the Caribbean nation.

“I listened to people whose lives have been destroyed by brutal violence,” he said. “They are desperate for security, dignity, hope. I refuse to believe we cannot do better for them.”

A country of 11 million, Haiti continues to face a severe humanitarian and protection crisis amid a cholera outbreak and rising malnutrition rates.

Half of all Haitians face food insecurity and unprecedented levels of forced displacement which tripled last year to over one million people, according to an update by OCHA, which noted that large scale displacements have continued into 2025.

‘They don’t want to be here’

For more than a year, gangs have taken over large swaths inside and outside the capital, Port-au-Prince, raping, killing, pillaging civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, as well as kidnapping child recruits to fight.

“Right now, up to half of all armed group members are children,” OCHA stated. “Fear permeates daily life” as families are forced to leave their homes and seek shelter, food and safety.

“They’ve been displaced multiple times by violence,” said Mr. Fletcher, who met with authorities, partners and affected families living in makeshift shelters. “They want to live their lives like anyone else.

“They don’t want to be here. They want to rebuild their lives. They want education for their kids. They want healthcare they need. They need clean water.”

Living ‘in misery’

Some displaced families shared their plight, including Roudy Jean, who said “we need to be able to live in a normal way, like in the rest of the world.”

Cashmina Jean-Michel, a woman displaced by gang violence, said she once owned a beauty salon and employed staff, but lost it all.

“At 5am, there was a lot of shooting,” she recalled. “I lost everything, my belongings, my business, but the safety of my children was my absolute priority. I had no choice but to get them and run immediately. Today, I live in a very cramped space in misery, where I can only keep one of my children while the others must stay with friends.”

Many families have been displaced two or three times, the UN relief chief said.

Food and shelter shortages

Innocent Fagneau, vice-president of a site for internally displaced people like Mr. Jean and Ms. Jean-Michel, described current challenges.

“Now, with the quantity of people we currently have, this space was not designed for this use,” he said.

“There’s also a food problem at this site. The quantity of food we receive to distribute, for example, we finish the amount by noon, but what about 3 or 4pm? People should still be able to eat something.”

Rebuilding lives, overcoming despair

The OCCED’H youth centre provides rays of hope, specifically targeting adolescents and youth from communities affected by armed violence and those living in sites for internally displaced people in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, where access to education and training opportunities is extremely limited.

The centre offers practical and vocational training to nearly 300 students, among them Phanie Sagesse, who is learning leather crafting.

“I love to develop my creative skills, and if you take leathercraft seriously and put all your heart in what you are doing,” she said, “it can help you achieve economic independence.”

‘We have to be here’

On a visit to the youth centre, Mr. Fletcher said “we can find ways to push back against this crisis, against a sense of despair and deterioration because here…these young people, they are cutting hair, they’re doing manicures, they’re learning to pedicure, they’re making bracelets, they are learning to fix motorbikes. But, ultimately, they’re rebuilding their lives.”

He said the world must lend a hand in that regard.

“We can see that people can build back their communities as well, not just as individuals, but as a society, as Haiti, and ultimately, that’s why we have to be here,” he said. “That’s why the world must be here, helping them to rebuild from always despair from the ruins of their lives.”

‘This is not enough’

While UN agencies scramble to provide support and essential goods and services, Mr. Fletcher said more must be done.

To date, the humanitarian appeal for Haiti remains severely underfunded. Of the $908 million required to address urgent needs, only 11 per cent is funded, leaving a $800 million funding gap.

“This is not enough,” the UN relief chief said. “I can’t believe that we’re struggling so much to raise the funds necessary to support these families as they try to rebuild their lives, but we have to be there for them. We have to do better.”