Haiti

FIGHTING HUNGER

For over a year now, Haiti’s population has had to rely almost exclusively on their own resources, and those are very scarce: according to the World Food Program, more than 4.97 million Haitians were affected by food insecurity in March 2024. “Hunger is growing since the food production cannot respond to the increasing needs in regions where many people have fled to,” reports Yolette Etienne, Partner and Program Coordinator for MI in Haiti and a native Haitian herself.

While widespread child malnutrition is a heartbreaking reality in Haiti, it is often challenging to identify the families most affected. MI works directly with community health centers to reach children as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women. In this way, MI’s staff is able to identify and support more people with essential medicines and nutritional supplements. In 2024, selected households also received cash assistance to bridge particularly insecure food situations. 

Her love makes her strong

Yolette Etienne’s voice falters for a moment. Normally calm and composed when speaking about her work for Malteser International in Haiti, she breaks into tears as she recounts a gang attack on the town of Kenscoff. At the end of January, gangs surrounded the town near the capital, Port-au-Prince. For several days, they roamed the streets, shooting and setting fires. It’s just one of many examples of the violence and suffering in Haiti. More than 200 violent groups now compete for influence, money, and resources across the country. They control 85 percent of Port-au-Prince. Haiti lacks a functioning government, a reliable police force, and an organized healthcare system.

UNREST IN HAITI: "OUR WORK IS BECOMING MORE CHALLENGING, BUT WE REMAIN ON THE GROUND"

Cologne/Port-au-Prince. In the wake of the resignation of Haiti's interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry, violence in Haiti has intensified. Gangs have largely seized power in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and are engaging in acts of rape, kidnapping, murder, and terror against the populace. According to the United Nations, approximately 362,000 people are internally displaced within Haiti. "Our work is becoming increasingly challenging every day, but we at Malteser International are committed to staying on the ground and supporting the people," says Etienne Yolette, Partner and Programme Coordinator of Malteser International in Port-au-Prince.

Interview with Yolette Etienne, Program Coordinator at Malteser International

On August 14, 2021, another massive earthquake struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The MI team, which has been working with local partner organizations in Haiti since 2010, was on the ground to help in the crisis region in the very first days. Yolette Etienne has now lived and worked through both of Haiti’s most violent and damaging earthquakes in recent history. And still, “tragedy”, “misfortune” and “catastrophe”, are not words you will find in her lexicon. Driven by deeply personal experiences, she has channeled them into her work as a humanitarian expert, and now as MI Americas’ Country Coordinator in Haiti. Sara Villoresi, Communications Officer at MI Americas in New York spoke with her about humanitarian aid in Haiti and her personal experiences.

After the earthquake: "Buildings, roads, water and sewage systems - everything was gone.“

Toni Gärtner, Program Manager in the Malteser International emergency relief team, travelled in August to the crisis region with the purpose to support the Malteser team on site.

There he helped with assessing and identifying the acute needs of the affected and how to fulfill these needs in the best efficient manner.

He reports: " From above, looking out of the plane, I thought: Why are we even here, it is not looking too bad. But the moment we landed and the closer we got to the epicentre, the more massive the damage got. I would say that in some places up to 90 percent of the buildings were in complete destroyed."