- New analysis finds more than two million children in Haiti live within five km of violence such as gunfire, drone strikes and clashes
- Armed drones add new risks for children in Haiti, with one in four living near an attack
- New international Gang Suppression Force must be backed by humanitarian investment
PORT-AU-PRINCE 18 June 2026 — About half of all children in Haiti are living on the frontlines of violence, with gunfire, drone strikes, armed clashes and other deadly threats at their doorstep, said Save the Children.
New analysis by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) with Save the Children, found that more than two million children - 47% of Haiti’s child population - lived within five kms (3 miles) of violent incidents in the first five months of this year [1].
Children make up just over a third of the Caribbean island nation’s population [2], yet they are disproportionately exposed to conflict [3]. Nearly half (43%) of all children in Haiti live in the Ouest department, home to Port-au-Prince and the epicentre of the country’s violence and armed group activity.
The growing use of armed drones in Haiti to target armed groups, especially in densely populated urban areas, has exposed children to new forms of violence. Since March 2025, one in four children in Haiti has lived within five kms of an armed drone strike, putting children at direct risk of physical harm.
The findings come as the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), a newly deployed UN-authorised multinational mission, begins in Port-au-Prince with a mandate to tackle the armed groups controlling the majority of the capital. Haiti declared a state of emergency in March 2024 due to escalating violence and lawlessness in the country, particularly in Port-au-Prince.
Save the Children said the GSF faces an extremely complex environment where they will encounter civilians—including children – involved with armed groups, but these children are not combatants but victims of grave violations and must be treated accordingly.
Up to half of all armed group members are estimated to be children, with displacement, poverty and a lack of access to basic services increasing children’s vulnerability to recruitment.
More than 750,000 children are currently displaced [4], including over 115,000 in Port-au-Prince alone, with many sheltering in overcrowded schools, often without adequate clean water, food, or protection.
Across the country nearly 1.5 million people from a population of about 11 million are displaced, and more than five million people are facing severe food insecurity, according to UN figures.
Gabriella Waaijman, Save the Children’s Chief Operating Officer on a visit to Haiti, said:
“These figures show the devastating toll Haiti’s violence is taking on children. Children are growing up forced to witness killings, violent clashes, bullet-littered streets and dead bodies while living in constant fear that they or their loved ones could be hurt, killed, recruited into armed groups, or subjected to sexual violence.
“In Port-au-Prince, I met families who had been displaced again and again due to armed groups expanding their control. Parents no longer know when it will be safe for their children to go to school, play outside, or even sleep through the night without the sound of gunfire. Many children are being recruited with just the promise of a pair of sneakers or money for a reliable meal.
“This is not just a crisis of physical safety – it is a crisis of childhood. When children grow up surrounded by violence, it shapes how they see the world, what they believe is possible for their lives, and if they can ever imagine a future free from fear.
“Children need protection, access to quality education, and opportunities for a bright future. With the GSF deployment, we are at an inflection point in Haiti, but security without parallel humanitarian investment will not break the cycle of violence. Children will remain vulnerable to recruitment and abuse as long as their basic needs go unmet.”
Save the Children is calling on all parties, armed groups and state forces alike, to immediately stop actions that kill, maim, or recruit children, and to ensure children encountered during security operations are treated first and foremost as victims and referred to child protection services for care, protection, and reintegration.
The child right’s organisation is also urging authorities and armed groups to guarantee safe humanitarian access and calling on international donors to urgently increase funding for Haiti's escalating child protection crisis.
Save the Children has provided cash assistance for displaced families in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince living in schools-turned-shelters to find more dignified housing solutions while helping to free up schools to resume educational activities, and cash assistance to host families in the Grand’Anse, South and North East department. The child rights organisation is also working through local partners in Haiti’s West, Grand’Anse, and South departments to provide access to quality education and psychosocial support to students.
Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1978, in both urban and rural communities.
ENDS
Notes:
[1] The figure on number of children under 18 within 5km of a conflict location is derived from combining population data from WorldPop with ACLED event data. The analysis only includes violent events which can include attacks, air/drone strikes, armed clashes, abductions and forced disappearances, mob violence, violent demonstrations, and sexual violence. Only unique locations are considered to avoid double counting.
From1 January to 29 May 2026, 2 million children (47%) were within 5km of violent conflict events.
[2] According to UN World Population Prospects, there are 4.3 million children under 18 in Haiti in 2026, out of a total population of 12 million (36%), https://population.un.org/wpp/
[3] Despite making up around 36% of the overall population in Haiti according to the UN, 47% of children have been on or close to the frontlines of conflict, as Haiti’s child population is concentrated in dense urban neighbourhoods especially in Port-au Prince and the wider Ouest department which have seen high levels of violence. Around 44% of children in Haiti live in the Ouest department.
