Haiti’s current crisis did not appear overnight. Decades of political instability, poverty, natural disasters and gang violence have created a country where basic necessities like food, healthcare and safe transportation are becoming increasingly difficult to access. While international organizations have repeatedly stepped in to help, Haiti’s continuing instability shows that security alone cannot solve the problem.
Haiti’s history has left its government especially vulnerable. Years of political turmoil, including the Duvalier dictatorship and the economic problems that followed, weakened the country’s institutions. The 2010 earthquake then created another massive humanitarian emergency, killing more than 200,000 people and displacing up to 1.5 million. These events contributed to a fragile government that has struggled to maintain infrastructure and provide basic services.
Today, gang violence has made that instability even worse. Around 200 armed gangs and hundreds of criminal groups operate throughout Haiti. By mid-2024, gang violence had displaced roughly 700,000 people. More than half of Haitians face food insecurity, while children are especially vulnerable to malnutrition, interrupted education and recruitment by armed groups. Healthcare has also been severely damaged. Fighting in Port-au-Prince has forced many medical facilities to close, leaving people without reliable access to treatment.
The situation became even more serious after President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in 2021. More than 5,600 people were killed by gang violence in 2024 alone, and another 6,000 people were forced from their homes in just one month in early 2025. With more than a million people displaced, Haiti cannot simply wait for another temporary solution.
The United Nations has already learned some of the difficulties of international intervention in Haiti. The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, or MINUSTAH, operated from 2004 to 2017 and provided important humanitarian and security assistance, especially after the 2010 earthquake. However, the mission was also criticized for failing to fully prevent gang violence and protect vulnerable populations. Its successor, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, continues to promote human rights and address issues including gender-based violence.
More recently, the international community has turned back toward security efforts, including a multinational mission designed to support Haitian police and combat gangs. But Haiti needs more than another mission focused only on fighting violence.
That is why international efforts should focus on helping Haiti rebuild the institutions that gangs have replaced, rather than simply trying to eliminate the gangs themselves.
That could mean securing major roads and ports so supplies can move freely, repairing water and electricity systems and reopening local courts. It could also mean improving disaster preparation. Haiti remains extremely vulnerable to hurricanes, earthquakes and flooding, so emergency supplies and warning systems should be established before another disaster occurs, rather than after.
Most importantly, Haitians need to be the ones deciding what their country looks like after the crisis. International organizations can provide funding, security and technical support, but they should not be deciding Haiti’s future for it.
Haiti does not need another temporary fix. It needs the ability to govern itself, provide for its people and eventually hold elections where citizens can safely choose their own leaders.
The international community cannot simply keep responding to Haiti every time another crisis becomes impossible to ignore. If the goal is lasting stability, the focus has to shift from controlling the crisis to helping Haitians build a country that can withstand the next one.
