The COVID-19 pandemic deepened the vulnerabilities of Haiti’s most at-risk children, including those in institutional care, those living on the streets, and those in restavek arrangements, creating new risks of exploitation, abuse, and deprivation in already precarious situations. Child protection organizations reported that the pandemic was overwhelming their capacity to monitor the welfare of children in vulnerable situations.
Institutions that housed children — orphanages, group homes, and residential schools — faced acute challenges managing COVID risk in facilities that were often overcrowded and poorly resourced. Without adequate supplies for cleaning and hygiene and with no capacity to isolate sick children from healthy ones, these institutions became potential transmission sites. Several reported outbreaks that they were unable to manage with available resources.
Street children, who had always been among the most invisible and vulnerable members of Haitian society, faced particular dangers during the pandemic. With fewer people on the streets to give them small amounts of money, reduced access to the informal food sources they depended on, and increased police enforcement of movement restrictions, their situation became even more desperate.
Child protection organizations called for emergency resources to support the most vulnerable children and for sustained attention to the pre-existing child welfare crisis that the pandemic had exacerbated. They argued that the damage being done to Haiti’s most vulnerable children during this period would have long-term consequences for the country’s social fabric that would take decades to repair.