UNICEF warned in late 2019 that Haitian children were bearing a disproportionate burden of the country’s ongoing political, economic, and humanitarian crisis. Months of school closures, reduced access to healthcare, worsening food insecurity, and increasing street violence had created conditions that threatened the health, safety, and future prospects of the country’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens.
Malnutrition rates, already elevated in Haiti before the crisis, had reportedly increased in affected communities, particularly among children under five. Stunting and wasting — indicators of chronic and acute malnutrition — were being recorded at alarming rates in some neighborhoods and rural areas.
Child protection organizations reported an increase in reports of violence against children, child labor, and the forced recruitment of minors by armed groups that exploited the governance vacuum created by the political crisis. Girls were particularly vulnerable to sexual violence and exploitation.
UNICEF called for the immediate reopening of schools and the prioritization of child health and nutrition services as part of any political resolution to Haiti’s crisis. The organization argued that the country could not afford to lose another generation to the cycle of poverty, instability, and underdevelopment that had constrained Haiti’s potential for decades.