Uptick of gang violence continues to worsen food insecurity in Haiti

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Widespread insecurity, caused by the resurgence of gang violence, is leading to severe food security prospects in Haiti. By the end of 2024, FEWS NET had already projected that Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes would be widespread throughout the country through May 2025, with Cité Soleil facing Emergency (IPC Phase 4). FEWS NET also assessed that pockets of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and very poor households in the departments of Ouest, Nord-Ouest, and Grand’Anse were experiencing Emergency (IPC Phase 4). The number of people expected to need food assistance was estimated at 2.0 to 2.5 million — 20 to 25 percent of the population — through May 2025. This is especially true for IDPs who have lost their livelihoods, lack shelter, and face growing physical and financial risks in accessing food due to extortion and gang violence. While humanitarian food assistance is present, it has been far from sufficient to meet the scale of needs, especially in IDP camps.
Since the new wave of gang violence in March 2025, food security has deteriorated countrywide, particularly in the capital affected by gang violence, as well as in Artibonite and Centre departments. The country continues to face acute food insecurity in a context of institutional collapse and escalating gang violence. Despite the spring harvests from June to July, which allowed rural households to access own production and slightly improve food consumption, worsening food security is expected across the country between July and December 2025, mainly due to the intensifying gang violence and its impact on income-generating activities, access to farmland, and the supply and function of markets. Food insecurity is expected to be most severe for internally displaced persons living in sites, very poor households in areas affected by gang attacks — particularly the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, Lower Artibonite, and the Centre department — as well as very poor households in Ouest, Nord-Ouest, and Grand’Anse, making them populations of highest concern.
Violence has expanded into the Centre department since March. Armed gangs have carried out attacks in the communes of Mirebalais, Saut-d’Eau, and more recently Lascahobas. This expansion has triggered new population displacement toward areas like Hinche, Belladère, and the North. As of June 2025, the total number of IDPs reached nearly 1.3 million: an increase of 24 percent compared to December 2024. Additionally, following attacks by the gang “Kokorat sans ras” in Artibonite — specifically in the Dessalines and Verrettes communes — on July 16, nearly 15,000 people were displaced, most seeking refuge with host families. These displacements add enormous pressure to host families, especially in rural areas, and to improvised urban shelters lacking access to water, healthcare, and food. The metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince remains the epicenter of violence, where most IDPs live in makeshift sites under alarming conditions, such as lack of food and income opportunities, and the depletion of livelihoods, among other challenges.
In addition, deportations of Haitians — nearly 136,000 people between January and June 2025 — with 98 percent coming from the Dominican Republic (and others from the U.S., Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos Islands), further increase pressure on local communities. These returnees face the challenge of limited livelihoods, pushing some unemployed youth toward armed gangs, thereby fueling a vicious cycle of violence.
The worsening security situation has also disrupted both formal and informal commercial activity, which together make up two-thirds of the national economy. Armed gangs have tightened control over key supply routes — especially National Roads 1 and 2 — imposing tolls on basic goods and severely limiting both physical and economic access to food. Downtown markets in Port-au-Prince, particularly Croix-des-Bossales, remain dysfunctional, forcing retailers to relocate to areas like Pétion-Ville and Delmas. Local products barely reach the capital, resulting in price hikes and significantly reduced profit margins for farmers.
Prices of staple foods remain very high, driven by both inflation and the scarcity of local products. Food inflation remained above 31 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025, outpacing overall inflation, which ranged from 20 to 30 percent. In this context, economic access to food is severely compromised, particularly for poor urban households whose incomes are rapidly declining. The hardest-hit areas are those where economic activity has been paralyzed by violence — such as Port-au-Prince, Croix-des-Bouquets, and Delmas — as well as rural communes where gangs control trade routes.
July coincides with the spring harvest period, especially in the departments of Sud, Grand’Anse, Nord, Artibonite, and Nippes. Due to near- or above-average rainfall in March and April, harvests of maize, beans, rice, and tubers are estimated to be near normal. However, only minimal amounts of these harvests are reaching Port-au-Prince markets due to insecurity that prevents farmers and traders from transporting their goods. While these crops serve as a food source for rural households, they do not generate sufficient income for producers, limiting their ability to purchase other food items or invest in upcoming agricultural seasons, particularly the fall campaign. Prospects for the fall season are already below normal. Insecurity is blocking access to farmland and hindering seasonal preparations, while a lack of technical and financial support is curbing farmers’ productive capacity. Emergency agricultural activity funding remains inadequate, despite FAO’s appeal for 48 million USD to assist over 600,000 people. Current coverage is very low, even in priority areas like Grand’Anse and Artibonite.
In this context of widespread deterioration, humanitarian needs are growing faster than response capacity, with food assistance sharply decreasing due to funding challenges. The significant reduction in humanitarian and development assistance projects since January 2025 has deeply affected the ability of humanitarian actors to respond, leaving millions even more vulnerable. Moreover, the structural vulnerability of the population — combined with the gradual collapse of social support mechanisms — will further contribute to worsening food security in Haiti between July and December in the absence of an appropriate emergency response and a lasting political and security solution.

Recommended citation: FEWS NET. Haiti Key Message Update July 2025: Uptick of gang violence continues to worsen food insecurity in Haiti, 2025.

This Key Message Update provides a high-level analysis of current acute food insecurity conditions and any changes to FEWS NET's latest projection of acute food insecurity outcomes in the specified geography. Learn more here.