The crisis is spreading beyond traditional centers of insecurity. Families in both urban and rural communities continue to flee attacks, often repeatedly and with increasingly limited safety options.
“Haiti’s displacement crisis is entering an even more alarming phase”said Gregoire Goodstein, IOM Chief of Mission in Haiti.
In May alone, new attacks in the densely populated Cité Soleil district – the capital’s largest slum – displaced more than 18,000 people in a matter of days.
The increase brought the number of internally displaced people in Port-au-Prince to more than 300,000 for the first time on record.
Goodstein described the experience of a woman who fled Port-au-Prince after her community was attacked by gangs: “To get to safety, her family waded up to their necks in the sea and then crawled through agricultural fields covered in mud and debris to avoid being seen by the gangs,” she said.
Most of those fleeing the uptick in violence have sought refuge in overcrowded spontaneous sites or moved in with host families already struggling to meet their own needs.
Safe areas under pressure
The spread of insecurity has increasingly blurred the distinction between conflict zones and refuge zones.
Just weeks before the violence in Cité Soleil, armed attacks in Haiti’s Southeast Department displaced more than 5,000 people.
The region had previously been considered a safer destination for people fleeing unrest in other parts of the country.
Humanitarian agencies say this change reflects a worrying trend: Communities that once absorbed displaced families are now becoming hotspots of displacement..
At the same time, the crisis has been exacerbated by continued forced returns. Since the beginning of 2026, more than 110,000 Haitians have been returned to the country, including women, children and other vulnerable groups.
Many arrive with few resources and limited support, returning to areas already affected by insecurity or struggling to absorb additional demographic pressures.
Returnees include particularly vulnerable groups, including unaccompanied children, pregnant and postpartum women, many of whom face difficult and unsafe conditions upon arrival.
Residents of Cité Soleil take refuge in the neighboring community of Drouillard in the north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Essential services on the limit
Across displacement sites and within host communities, humanitarian needs continue to increase. Displaced families report serious shortages of shelter, food, clean water and health care.
Access to psychosocial support also remains limited despite widespread trauma related to repeated displacement and exposure to violence.
Overcrowded living conditions and deteriorating access to services also increase protection concerns, including increased risks of exploitation and abuse.
Humanitarian agencies warn that conditions could worsen further as the Atlantic hurricane season begins. Flooding and severe weather pose an additional threat to thousands of displaced people living in overcrowded, temporary shelters with limited protection from storms.
Support solutions
Despite insecurity and difficult operating conditions, IOM and humanitarian partners continue providing emergency support in some of the most affected areas of Haiti.
Current efforts include emergency shelter, medical care, water and sanitation services, psychosocial support, relief supplies, and site management assistance.
Aid agencies stress that humanitarian assistance alone will not be enough. Haitian communities need support that goes beyond emergency aid, including increased security, access to basic services, legal identity documentation, and paid work opportunities.