1. Home
  2. Americas
  3. Haiti

Is the Kenyan-led police mission helping Haiti?

In this short video, a Haitian photographer explores whether the deployment is making a difference or not.

This is a slihouette of a woman as she stands against the light of a window. Clarens Siffroy/TNH
Ninez Derosme’s husband was killed in August 2023, during a gang attack in the Carrefour-Feuilles neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. She is now living in a displacement camp in the capital with her eight children.

Related stories

Two months have passed since the arrival of 400 Kenyan police officers in Haiti, as part of a Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission approved by the UN to help restore security.

But Haitians have seen little improvement in their daily life, and gangs continue to control large swathes of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and of the neighbouring Ouest and Artibonite departments. 

Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and live in precarious conditions in displacement camps.

A recent Mercy Corps report shows that displacement in Haiti is very likely to rise as conflict escalates between police, international troops, and gangs, further complicating humanitarian access to those in need. 

Largely financed by the United States, it is hoped that the MSS could one day number up to 2,500 police and security personnel from several countries, but so far the small Kenyan contingent currently deployed says it lacks the firepower and equipment to efficiently fight the gangs.

A trust fund was set up by the UN to receive donations from country members of the UN Security Council, but funds have been slow to arrive. Both the Kenyan police officers deployed and their families have reported delays in the payments promised to them.

Haitian photographer Clarens Siffroy has covered Haiti's crisis for months.

In this video, which includes photos of his reporting trips to gang-controlled areas of downtown Port-au-Prince as well as a displacement camp called Rex Théâtre, he tells us what life is like for Haitians today.

Read more about...

Share this article

Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join