Haiti

Concern has been responding to the current escalation of violence and humanitarian need in Haiti since 2021, providing both immediate relief and long-term support.

Currently, our emergency response is focused on frontline food security, protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. Manje Byen: Lespri ak Ko Djanm (“Eat Well: Healthy Mind and Body”) provides lifesaving voucher distributions to 4,000 people who can use it in nearby shops to buy essential commodities. The use of such vouchers are a way to support 80 local vendors who are also participating in the program. It’s also safer than cash for participants to carry.

We’re also currently working with over 1,500 youth from Bel Air, Cité Soleil, and Saint Martin to promote nonviolent leadership among Haiti’s younger generations through social cohesion initiatives that are helping to lay the groundwork for a peaceful future in Haiti via conflict management, trauma healing, and skills-training sessions.

Solysion Aveni Miyò (“Solutions towards a Better Future”) is one example of how we’re addressing the multidimensional nature of extreme poverty in Haiti, tackling the specific barriers faced by people living in Cité Soleil, Croix de Bouquets, and the rural commune of Savanette. 

This five-year, Irish Aid-funded program aims to increase the socio-economic resilience and self-reliance for over 2,000 families through four key elements: 

1. Supporting their access to economic activities that allow them to meet their basic needs and improve their access to basic services.
2. Nurture healthy social dynamics and relationships at both the community and household level.
3. Promote the protection of displaced populations and other marginalised groups, especially with regards to GBV.
4. Increase participation in public affairs by reducing legal barriers.

The program has proven to be adaptive to the current situation in the country and uses a conflict-sensitive approach to help families build resilience against ongoing risks.

Our integrated approach to healthcare in Haiti includes focuses on nutrition, maternal and child health, and WASH services, addressing overlapping issues including severe acute malnutrition, cholera, and maternal health. 

We work with local partners to bring mobile clinics to underserved neighborhoods, providing essential services to expectant mothers and key issues to whole communities. We also work with Parents Clubs — groups that help mothers and fathers learn best practices for healthy meals and hygiene habits. Concern-supported Community Health Workers also work with families to provide cooking demonstrations and a set of activities now known as Baby WASH, which meet the specific needs of young infants with developing immune systems.