How aid cuts are threatening women’s organizations responding to Haiti’s gang violence

Just as needs are increasing, the support RFEO provides is at risk due to funding cuts that have swept through the aid sector.

RFEO is among many organizations that have been forced to reduce its paid staff, forcing it to reduce the number of women and children the organization can reach. UN Women surveyed women’s organizations in Haiti to understand how aid cuts have impacted their work. 83 per cent report losing staff, and around two-thirds say they were forced to delay or suspend services to support survivors of gender-based violence.

Meanwhile, 97 per cent report that their capacity to provide services is lower than the current need, and 1 in 3 expects to suspend operations or close entirely within the next 12 months. Often, already marginalized women, girls and their communities are the hardest hit.

Régine Zéphirin Diègue, founder of the Movement for the Integration and Emancipation of Disabled Women (MIEFH), Haiti’s first organization dedicated to empowering women and girls with disabilities, has been hit hard. In early 2025, MIEFH lost three-quarters of its paid staff due to funding cuts.

By the following week, the entire team returned as unpaid volunteers. This was a testament to their commitment but an unsustainable measure. “If MIEFH’s situation worsens, unfortunately we’ll have to close”, explains Diègue. “I have staff, who for some time now are working pro bono. You can’t ask them to volunteer indefinitely.”

According to Diègue, the escalation of gang violence has increased the risks faced by women and girls with disabilities: “Since 2024, there are so many displaced people, who are staying with friends and family – the people hosting them feel like they have all their rights because they are providing a little food or place to sleep. Sometimes because the other person is asking them for help, it becomes transactional.”