Among the populations most severely affected by Haiti’s 2019 crisis and least visible in public discourse were the country’s elderly citizens, who faced particular vulnerabilities in an environment of rising food prices, disrupted healthcare, insecurity, and the economic pressures that pushed younger family members to prioritize their own survival. Organizations working with older Haitians documented a sharp increase in reports of malnutrition, untreated illness, and isolation among seniors during the protest and lockdown periods.
Haiti has no meaningful social security system for its elderly population. Seniors depend almost entirely on family support for their financial survival, a traditional arrangement that came under enormous strain when family members lost income during the economic disruption of 2019. When households had to make difficult choices about food, medicine, and other necessities, the needs of working-age adults and children sometimes took priority over those of the elderly.
Healthcare access, already limited for older Haitians in normal times, became even more difficult during the crisis. Many seniors with chronic conditions requiring regular medication or medical monitoring found that their care was disrupted by the inability of health facilities to maintain normal operations and the danger of traveling to those facilities during periods of unrest.
Elderly Haitians themselves described their situation with a stoic dignity that did not hide the depth of their hardship. Many expressed shame at depending on others and anxiety about being a burden on families that were themselves struggling. Organizations advocating for older Haitians called for their specific needs to be included in any humanitarian response and recovery planning.