A Child’s Right to Education: Recognizing the Cost of Haitian Violence on Youth Schooling
Angelina Govan
Haiti’s ongoing violence threatens not only children’s immediate safety, but also their opportunities and ability to shape the future of their lives and their country. At the center of this threat is the growing disruption of children’s education, limiting the next generation’s ability to transform a dismantled system into a developed society. Gang violence and instability have closed schools and disrupted learning for Haitian youth. Without education, children become more vulnerable to gang recruitment, threatening both their safety and Haiti’s future. Additionally, most schools in Haiti are limited. The Power of Education Foundation states that “Schools in Haiti are often overcrowded and generally do not have the resources to provide a good education.” There have been measures to combat this alarming concern; however, humanitarian responses tend to prioritize immediate needs such as food and healthcare while education is viewed as a secondary concern. Education should be recognized as an emergency humanitarian need and receive greater priority in international aid. Protecting education now protects Haiti’s next generation and supports the country’s long-term stability and development.
Haitian children should be able to have consistent, safe access to education throughout the crisis. Not having access to education needs to be treated as an urgent humanitarian need, as over 1,600 schools across four departments are closed as of April 30th, 2025. This has affected 243,000 students and over 7,500 teachers. Additionally, Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies wrote that “In January 25 alone, armed groups destroyed 47 schools in Port-au-Prince.” This goes to show how this is a continuous problem, not an issue that can be easily resolved. Long-term consequences of youth in Haiti not having access to education include learning loss, increased poverty, greater vulnerability, and fewer economic opportunities. Similarly, limited education also reduces future employment opportunities, keeping families trapped in cycles of poverty.
International organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have worked to address Haiti’s education crisis. For example, UNICEF played a large role in protecting children’s access to schooling. UNICEF has focused on rehabilitating damaged schools and providing educational resources to displaced children. Additionally, UNICEF Representative in Haiti, Geetanjali Narayan, has spoken out about the worsening crisis as she emphasized how escalating gang violence continues to threaten children’s safety and education. Narayan warned that “A child out of school is a child at risk,” which highlights how the recruitment of children into armed groups increased by 70% in 2024. UNICEF also estimated that one in seven children in Haiti was out of school, further elaborating on the severity of the ongoing crisis. Although organizations have made efforts to improve educational access, additional measures are needed, including rehabilitating and reopening damaged or unsafe schools, providing temporary learning spaces for displaced children, giving financial assistance to schools and families, and providing food in schools for starving children. Without sufficient funding and international support, these organizations will continue to struggle to reach the thousands of children affected by Haiti’s education crisis.
Current humanitarian responses are insufficient, as humanitarian aid only prioritizes food, clean water, shelter, healthcare, and physical security. All of these are incredibly important; however, education should be one of the emergency priorities included in that list. There has been sufficient data showing how detrimental this crisis is, and without it being seen as a priority, it will continue to go unaddressed. Some may say that a starving or sick child cannot meaningfully benefit from schooling; however, there are a few points contrary to this belief. Firstly, education is not only an emergency but also a right all children deserve. No child should fear losing access to education while others are freely able to attend school. According to Article 26 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to education, which should be free at the elementary level. Education is not just an opportunity, but a fundamental human right that allows children to develop their abilities and build a better future. Denying Haitian children this right due to ongoing violence puts them at a disadvantage while limiting their opportunities.
Additionally, treating education as something that can wait will create another crisis. With thousands of children losing access to schooling due to violence and displacement, addressing this crisis cannot wait. Not only will this elongate the solution, but this also poses risks of another crisis forming during that waiting period. Lastly, years without schooling can worsen poverty and vulnerability. This only traps families in cycles of economic hardship and blocks access to higher-paying jobs, states the World Bank Group. According to UNESCO, the completion of universal secondary education would be able to bring 420 million people out of poverty globally.
My solution is to recognize education as a core part of humanitarian response. I call for increased emergency funding, specifically for education. Funding has been one of the biggest reasons why the support from NGO’s and international organizations has not been able to come close to eliminating the issue. Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies expands on this as they wrote, “The 2025 UN education appeal of USD 62 million to support one million children was only 7% funded as of October.” Since education is not seen as a priority, it lacks the funding and urgency needed to address the crisis. However, increasing access to education would not only protect children from gang recruitment and exploitation but also reduce long-term poverty and strengthen Haiti’s future workforce. According to the World Bank, each additional year of schooling increases an individual’s earnings by approximately 10% on average globally. For international donors, investing in education provides both immediate protection for vulnerable children and long-term economic benefits that could contribute to Haiti’s recovery and stability. Additionally, this would help expand existing programs rather than create new systems. Expanding these programs would protect more children from violence while improving their future economic opportunities. Rather than creating new systems, increased funding would allow existing organizations to expand their reach and support even more children. These solutions should prioritize displaced and violence-affected children, since they are the most vulnerable.
This proposed solution is better than current efforts as it directly addresses the underlying funding prioritization problem. By increasing funding for existing programs, organizations would be able to expand their reach rather than create entirely new systems. This approach is more feasible since it builds on programs that are already working to support Haitian children. Additionally, increased funding would help address both immediate and long-term needs by protecting children from violence and improving their educational abilities. An educated younger generation is essential to rebuilding Haiti’s economy and creating long-term stability. Without these investments, Haiti risks prolonging the cycle of poverty and instability that continues to affect future generations. The United States also has an interest in supporting Haiti’s recovery, as greater stability and stronger institutions align with longstanding U.S. regional interests. Ultimately, investing in education would strengthen Haiti’s ability to eventually sustain its own recovery.
Education must be treated as an emergency now, not after Haiti stabilizes. Donors and humanitarian organizations should prioritize funding immediately, as education should be a humanitarian priority, not something left for a ‘waiting period’. Education protects Haiti’s youth and strengthens its future stability and democracy. Without youth having access to education, they remain vulnerable to gang violence and continue in the economic cycle they are already stuck in. UNICEF spoke out as well, stating that without action now, Haiti risks losing an entire generation to the crisis. To prevent this, international donors and humanitarian organizations must recognize education as an urgent humanitarian need and provide the funding necessary to protect Haiti’s next generation.
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