Concern responding as surge in violence in Haiti forces more than 40,000 people from their homes
Concern Worldwide is responding to the needs of a growing number of people fleeing their homes in Haiti, amid a surge in violence in recent weeks.
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Rising global conflicts: the humanitarian crises affecting people worldwide
Global conflict is on the rise, and it is having an outsized impact on civilians caught in the crossfire – who not only fear the daily threat of violence, but lose many of the basic necessities we often take for granted.
Conflict has a ripple effect, creating and exacerbating issues such as hunger, housing, and poor health. As a result, the world is seeing many more humanitarian crises.
The impact of conflict on communities
The UN has found that conflict today tends to be regionalised and fragmented within countries, waged between non-state actors such as political militias, criminal, and international terrorist groups. In the past year, one in seven people worldwide have been exposed to conflict.
When conflict breaks out, civilians are often caught in the violence. In 2022, civilians made up nearly 94% of victims in incidents involving the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. To stay safe, many families are forced to leave behind their homes, possessions, and livelihoods at a moment’s notice. Overnight, they become displaced.
With thousands of people lacking adequate shelter, clothing, and access to bathroom facilities, health risks and illnesses climb. Often, fighting can disrupt access to food supplies. Other times, without a source of income, individuals struggle to afford food to eat. Conflict is currently the largest driver of food insecurity, pushing 134.5 million people in 20 countries into hunger.
Very quickly, conflict can drive communities into a state of humanitarian crisis.
A distribution of hygiene kits at Banjdeed, West Darfur, Sudan, targetting vulnerable households in 10 of the surrounding villages. This area was badly affected by the conflict that broke out in Sudan in April 2023 and many people fled across the border to Chad, leaving everything behind. Some of them have since returned to find their homes damaged or destroyed and their possessions looted. Photo: Kieran McConville/Concern Worldwide
How conflict is driving humanitarian crises around the world
What is happening in Sudan?
Sudan reached a heightened level of political and social instability in 2019, when the 30-year regime of President Omar al-Bashir ended. In 2023, the alliance between co-governing military factions collapsed into violence following a power struggle.
Sudan is now facing the world’s largest hunger crisis and more than 26 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Nearly 12 million have been forced to flee their homes. In July, famine-like conditions were declared in North Darfur and many other areas are at risk.
What is happening in Gaza?
Gaza’s recent history of conflict escalated on 7 October 2023, when an attack on Israel left 1,200 people dead. Since then, there has been heavy fighting and bombardment in Gaza. In Gaza, nearly 44,000 Palestinians have been killed in little over a year, and 1.9 million of Gaza’s population of 2.2 million have been displaced, some of them on multiple occasions.
The recent famine alert stated that the humanitarian situation was extremely grave and rapidly deteriorating, and that there was an imminent and substantial likelihood of famine. It concluded that urgent action must be taken “within days not weeks” to alleviate a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
What is happening in Haiti?
Haiti has been overwhelmed by gang violence, instability and poverty for years, but this escalated in March 2024, when gangs in Port-au-Prince freed thousands of prisoners and forced a state of emergency, leading to the resignation of the prime minister. Haiti is one of the most food-insecure countries in the world and 5.5 million people, nearly half of the population, need humanitarian assistance.
Violence within Haiti is at a record high. In the last month, 41,000 people have been displaced by attacks amongst armed groups. Persistent violence has massively reduced household mobility, specifically for women, and the threat of death, kidnapping, or sexual assault means many people are afraid to leave their homes.
A VSLA (village savings and loan) meeting in a neighborhood of Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Groups like this are playing an important role in the economic development of communities within this informal urban settlement. Photo: Kieran McConville/Concern Worldwide
Why can’t more humanitarian support reach places like Gaza and Sudan?
Despite the best efforts of aid workers to support affected communities, access remains challenging and frequently dangerous. As a result, the provision of aid remains totally inadequate to meet the massive level of needs.
Additionally, two recent UN Security Council vetoes dealt cruel blows to draft resolutions that sought to address calamitous humanitarian crises in Sudan and Gaza.
The draft resolutions called for immediate ceasefires, the protection and safe passage of civilians, and the safe delivery of humanitarian aid. Their veto means that the suffering of the people of Gaza and Sudan will continue to go unchecked.
Given the severity of needs in Sudan and Gaza, the United Nations and all of its member states must find a way to break the political deadlock and end the fighting, ensure safe, scaled up humanitarian responses, and establish a lasting, peaceful settlement to these conflicts.
