(2024-12) Key Message Update: Escalating insecurity in Port-au-Prince and Artibonite worsening household food and income

FEWS NET • 2024 • 2 pages

Summary — December 2024 brought two mass killings and fresh displacement. At least 207 people were killed in Wharf Jérémie, Cité Soleil, between 6 and 11 December (BINUH), and 70 were killed in Petite-Rivière in Artibonite after a joint police and Multinational Security Support Mission operation against the Gran Grif gang. Over 21,400 people were displaced in the first 17 days of December (IOM). Floods since late November damaged croplands across Nord, Nord-Ouest, Sud and Grand'Anse, destroying more than 80 percent of bean, sweet potato and banana farms in the worst-hit plains. Households also cannot withdraw cash from banks and transfer houses that lack liquidity.

View Document View Original Source

Key Findings

At least 207 people were killed at Wharf Jérémie, Cité Soleil, between 6 and 11 December 2024 (BINUH); 70 were killed in Petite-Rivière after a joint HNP-MSSM operation against the Gran Grif gang.
More than 21,400 people were displaced in the first 17 days of December (IOM).
Households in the ZMPP and Petite-Rivière face financial barriers to market access, including banks and transfer houses without liquidity.
Floods from late November damaged croplands in Nord, Nord-Ouest, Sud and Grand'Anse, with 10 deaths and six missing.
More than 80 percent of bean, sweet potato and banana farms in the worst-hit plains were destroyed, as were over 80 percent of Grand Sud Congo pea crops; 6,000 farmers and 500 herders affected in Grand'Anse (OCHA).

Full Description

This Key Message Update covers December 2024. Gang attacks in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area (ZMPP) and Artibonite continued to worsen, particularly in Cité Soleil and the commune of Petite-Rivière. The uptick in gang violence since November restricted movement, cut income-earning opportunities for poor households and displaced more than 21,400 people in the first 17 days of December according to IOM, so widespread Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes persist with Emergency (IPC Phase 4) in Cité Soleil; internally displaced people in ZMPP settlement sites, facing precarious conditions, and pockets of very poor households in Ouest, Nord-Ouest and Grand'Anse also face Emergency outcomes. Violence was particularly deadly: the massacre led by the gang leader known as Mikanor at Wharf Jérémie in Cité Soleil killed at least 207 people between 6 and 11 December according to BINUH, and in Petite-Rivière, after a joint operation by the Haitian National Police and the Multinational Security Support Mission against the Gran Grif gang, the gang launched attacks on 13 December and killed 70 people. This surge damaged poor households' income sources, disrupted market functioning and supply, and impeded food assistance distribution. In the most insecure areas, particularly the ZMPP and Petite-Rivière, market access has become increasingly constrained by financial barriers, including the impossibility of withdrawing cash from banks and money transfer houses that lack liquidity, and by the difficulty of pursuing typical income-earning activities. Floods in Nord, Nord-Ouest, Sud and Grand'Anse since late November and early December damaged croplands and caused casualties, including 10 deaths and six missing. In Grand'Anse, 6,000 farmers and 500 livestock herders were affected according to OCHA. In the worst-affected areas of Nord and Nord-Ouest more than 80 percent of bean, sweet potato and banana farms in the plains were destroyed, with bean crops particularly hit in Nord-Ouest; over 80 percent of Congo pea crops in the Grand Sud, normally harvested from late November to January, were destroyed, and in Grand'Anse, particularly Anse d'Hainault, Dame-Marie and Chambellan, about 75 percent of plains farms were destroyed.

Geography

Time Coverage

2024-12 — 2024-12

Keywords

Entities

Full Document Text

Extracted text from the original document for search indexing.

Haiti - Key Message Update December 2024 Escalating insecurity in Port-au-Prince and Artibonite worsening household food and income Key Messages Gang attacks in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area (ZMPP) and the Artibonite department continue to worsen, particularly in Cité Soleil and the commune of Petite-Rivière in Artibonite. The uptick in gang violence since November has restricted population movements, hindered income-earning opportunities for poor households, and displaced over 21,400 people during the first 17 days of December (IOM). Consequently, widespread Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes persist, with Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes in Cité Soleil. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in settlement sites in ZMPP (who are facing precarious conditions) and pockets of very poor households in the Ouest, Nord-Ouest, and Grand’Anse, will also face Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes. Gang violence has been particularly deadly in December, including the massacre led by gang leader Mikanor in Wharf Jérémie in Cité Soleil, which resulted in the death of at least 207 people between December 6 and 11 (BINUH). In Petite-Rivière, following a joint operation between the National Police (HNP) and the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM) against the Gran Grif gang, the gang launched attacks on December 13 and killed 70 people. This surge in violence has adversely affected poor households’ income sources, disrupted market functioning and supply, and impeded food assistance distribution. In the most insecure areas, particularly ZMPP and Petite-Rivière, household access to markets has become increasingly constrained due to financial barriers (e.g., the impossibility of withdrawing cash from banks and money transfer houses, which lack liquidity) and challenges to engaging in typical income-earning activities. Floods in the Nord, Nord-Ouest, Sud, and Grand'Anse departments since late November and early December have damaged croplands and caused casualties, including 10 deaths and six missing persons. In Grand'Anse, 6,000 farmers and 500 livestock herders have been affected (OCHA). In the worst-affected areas of the Nord and Nord-Ouest, more than 80 percent of bean, sweet potato, and banana farms in the plains have been destroyed, according to key informants. Bean crops have been particularly impacted in the Nord-Ouest. Over 80 percent of Congo pea crops in the Grand Sud, typically harvested from late November to January, have been destroyed. Furthermore, around 20 hectares of maize and beans are also affected, according to a key informant. In the Grand’Anse department, particularly in Anse d'Hainault, Dammarie, and Chambellan, about 75 percent of farms in plains areas have been destroyed. AlFEWS NET is a USAID-funded activity. The content of this report does not necessarily reflect the view of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. FEWS NET Haiti haiti@fews.net fews.net/latin-america-and-caribbean/haiti Key Message Update December 2024 though the winter agricultural season generally produces much less than the spring season, the decline in production will reduce anticipated food stocks, pushing producing households to rely more on markets in the postharvest period. Households in the Grand Sud will likely face the worst pressure on food access as their coping capacities are already constrained from hosting over 45 percent of Haiti’s IDPs. The security crisis in the Haitian capital is disrupting supply chains (particularly for local products) and market functioning (including in Croix-des-Bossales and Croix-des-Bouquets); however, the prices of staple foods such as rice, cooking oil, and dried peas have remained relatively stable, fluctuating slightly compared to previous months. However, prices remain significantly above average, making access more difficult for very poor households. Recommended citation: FEWS NET. Haiti Key Message Update December 2024: Escalating insecurity in Port-au-Prince and Artibonite worsening household food and income, 2024. * FEWS NET's classifications are IPC-compatible. IPC-compatible analysis follows key IPC protocols but does not necessarily reflect the consensus of national food security partners. As of IPC 3.0, the IPC no longer assesses the impact of food assistance on classification and thus no longer maps the (!). However, FEWS NET continues to produce food security maps inclusive of the (!) as well as maps compatible with IPC 3.0/3.1, which include the mapping of food security assistance bags. FEWS NET and the IPC use different methods to estimate the total Population in Need of humanitarian food assistance and assess the risk of Famine. Learn more at www.fews.net/about. Key Message Update This Key Message Update provides a high-level analysis of current acute food insecurity conditions and any changes to FEWS NET's latest projection of acute food insecurity outcomes in the specified geography. Learn more here. Famine Early Warning Systems Network 2