Ref-Haiti Advocates for the Protection of Women and Children During Hurricane Melissa's Passage
By Gedeon Delva · Port-au-Prince
· 2 min read · Updated 24 April 2026
Translated from French — AI-assisted and reviewed by the editorial team. The French version is authoritative. Read the original · About our translation policy
In a note published this Monday, October 27, 2025, the Refuge des Femmes d’Haiti paints a grim picture of the situation of women and children, especially those in camps.
This women's rights defense organization highlights that 64,000 internally displaced persons are currently distributed in precarious camps across the South, Grand'Anse, and West. Among them, 60% are women and girls, including 18,000 children under 12 years old and over 8,000 breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women living without access to safe shelter or minimal medical care.
In some camps, women are exposed to sexual assault due to a lack of lighting and police presence. Hunger, fear, and overcrowding further weaken families.
Given this worrying reality, the Refuge des Femmes d’Haïti (Ref-Haïti) urges the government to immediately adopt the following measures:
•Enhanced activation of the National Risk and Disaster Management Plan (PNGRD) in red alert zones, with priority given to displacement sites; Establishment of safe and accessible emergency shelters for women and children, equipped with hygiene kits, food, drinking water, and minimal psychosocial support; Rapid mobilization of the Civil Protection Directorate (DPC) in coordination with local municipalities and organizations, for the temporary relocation of families located in immediate risk zones,
Establishment of mixed health brigades for disease prevention and the distribution of drinking water, among other things. The women's organization believes that if no immediate measures are adopted, up to 15,000 people could find themselves completely isolated in flood-prone areas in the South and Grand'Anse;
•Enhanced activation of the National Risk and Disaster Management Plan (PNGRD) in red alert zones, with priority given to displacement sites; Establishment of safe and accessible emergency shelters for women and children, equipped with hygiene kits, food, drinking water, and minimal psychosocial support; Rapid mobilization of the Civil Protection Directorate (DPC) in coordination with local municipalities and organizations, for the temporary relocation of families located in immediate risk zones,
Establishment of mixed health brigades for disease prevention and the distribution of drinking water, among other things. The women's organization believes that if no immediate measures are adopted, up to 15,000 people could find themselves completely isolated in flood-prone areas in the South and Grand'Anse;
- More than 2,000 temporary shelters risk collapsing under the pressure of rain and wind;
- Local hospitals, already overburdened, will not be able to absorb the influx of injured people or pregnant women in distress.
