Despite actions against gang violence, insecurity continues to disrupt food access and availability

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Acute food insecurity continues to worsen in the country, particularly in the marginalized neighborhoods of the Port-au-Prince Metropolitan Area (ZMPP), which are plagued by gang violence, and in the Ouest, Nord-Ouest, and Grand’Anse departments. This deterioration is due to crop losses caused by water deficits, as well as the decline in purchasing power and income-earning opportunities. Poor households and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the capital are the most affected. These IDPs have lost their livelihoods and income-earning opportunities due to gang extortion, in addition to precarious living conditions, such as overcrowding, lack of hygiene, and inadequate sanitation facilities. Moreover, high prices of staple foods hinder their access to food, as their incomes are below average. In this context of deep crisis and soaring prices of basic food items, food insecurity could further worsen between September 2025 and February 2026, even during the year-end holiday season and the fall and winter harvests, which are expected to be below average. In light of this deterioration, humanitarian needs will continue to rise, while the response capacity of humanitarian actors remains very limited, with a significant decline in food assistance due to funding challenges and restricted humanitarian access.
Insecurity continues to prevail in Haiti, despite police crackdowns on gangs. In fact, insecurity has increased sharply since May, with an average of 220 violent incidents per month from May to August, based on Partnership Liasion Security Operation data. As of September 26, 192 incidents had already been recorded, including 141 gang attacks. More than 70 percent of the incidents occurred in the Ouest department, followed by Artibonite and Centre. Armed gangs currently control nearly 90 percent of the ZMPP. Additionally, insecurity persists along the northern, western, and southern routes of the capital. Gangs are intensifying their attacks in the departments of Ouest (notably in the communes of Kenscoff, Arcahaie, Cabaret), Artibonite, and Centre, disrupting livelihoods, market operations, trade, and causing population displacements, resulting in limited access to basic necessities including drinking water, fuel, food, healthcare, and sanitation.
The total number of IDPs resulting from armed gang violence exceeds 1.3 million people, who are fleeing violence in Ouest, Artibonite, and Centre, according to the International Organization for Migration. This number is expected to increase by February, given the scale of insecurity and the limited capacity of authorities to contain it. At the same time, mass deportations of Haitians have reached nearly 190,000 people from January to September 11, 2025, almost 98 percent from the Dominican Republic. This trend is expected to continue and could increase pressure on local communities, which are already facing challenges with limited livelihood opportunities. Market supplies in ZMPP, Centre, and Artibonite remain disrupted, as marketing routes are controlled by armed gangs imposing passage fees. Due to insecurity, traders, especially the “Madam Sara,” cannot supply ZMPP markets with local goods from rural areas. Under normal security conditions, these traders collect products from production zones and supply local markets. The absence of collectors also results in income losses for rural producers, leading to below-average rural incomes. However, rural and urban markets in other regions are normally supplied, especially with local produce and imported goods. Additionally, insecurity on national roads 1 and 2 disrupts fuel distribution outside the capital, leading to low supply in several areas, especially in Nord-Ouest, where fuel prices have risen by over 13 percent for gasoline and nearly 8 percent for diesel. As a result of insecurity, rising fuel prices, and the depreciation of the HTG, prices of staple foods, especially imported rice, and local beans and maize, remain very high, exceeding 100 percent above the five-year national average.
Soil preparation and planting activities for the fall crops continue in humid and semi-humid mountain areas and irrigated zones in the South and Nord-Est. Below-average rainfall in recent weeks may affect the normal development of crops (maize and beans) and potentially delay the start of the winter agricultural season, as dry conditions and above-average temperatures are expected through November 2025. However, heavy rainfall since September 25 has caused flooding in several departments, such as Bas Nord-Ouest (Baie de Henne commune), the South, Nippes, and Artibonite, damaging crops (especially banana farms) and washing away livestock, according to the National Risk and Disaster Management System and the National Emergency Operations Center. Nevertheless, below-average rainfall forecasts for the fall and winter suggest likely below-average harvests.

Recommended citation: FEWS NET. Haiti Key Message Update September 2025: Despite actions against gang violence, insecurity continues to disrupt food access and availability, 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.