Haiti

Recommended Vaccinations For Haiti

For Most Travellers

Hepatitis B Vaccine

Hepatitis B vaccine is recommended.

Hepatitis A Vaccine

Hepatitis A vaccination is highly recommended.

For Some Travellers

Cholera Vaccine

The U.K. NaTHNaC recommends the oral cholera vaccine for some travellers whose activities or medical history put them at increased risk, travelling to areas of active cholera transmission. These risk factors include: aid workers; those going to areas of cholera outbreaks who have limited access to potable water and medical care; travellers for whom the vaccination would be considered potentially beneficial, such as chronic medical conditions. The U.S. CDC recommends the vaccination for children and adults who are travelling to areas of active cholera transmission. CDC notes that Cholera is rare in traveller and that safe food and water practices can prevent cholera infections.

Yellow Fever Vaccine

There is no risk of yellow fever transmission in this country. However, this country requires a yellow fever vaccination certificate for travellers over one year of age arriving from countries/territories at risk for yellow fever transmission.

Typhoid Fever Vaccine

Unvaccinated travellers are at risk of exposure to typhoid fever in this country through consumption of unsafe food and water. Since exposure to unsafe sources is variable within this country, the vaccination against typhoid fever is generally recommended, especially when visiting smaller cities, rural areas where food and water sources may be contaminated.

Rabies Vaccine

Vaccination against rabies is recommended for travellers involved in outdoor activities (e.g., campers, hikers, adventure travellers, and cavers) who may have direct contact with rabid dogs, bats, and other mammals. Those with occupational risks (such as veterinarians, wildlife professionals, researchers) and long-term travellers and expatriates are at higher risk and should be vaccinated.

Recommended Medications For Haiti

For Some Travellers

Anti-malarial Drugs

Recommended anti-malaria medications include atovaquone-proguanil, chloroquine, doxycycline, or mefloquine.

Diseases To Be Aware of for Haiti

For Most Travellers

Dengue Fever

There is a risk of dengue fever exposure in Haiti.

Chikungunya Fever

Chikungunya fever has occurred in this country.

Hepatitis B

There is a high risk of exposure to hepatitis B in Haiti.

Hepatitis A

There is a high risk of exposure to hepatitis A in Haiti.

Cholera

There is a very high risk of exposure to cholera in Haiti where there have been serious epidemics of this disease.

For Some Travellers

Malaria

All areas of Haiti are at risk for exposure to malaria.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis occurs in this country. Travellers to this country are at risk for tuberculosis if visiting sick friends or family, working in the healthcare field, or having close prolonged contact with the general population.

Typhoid Fever

There is a high risk of typhoid fever in Haiti, especially if staying with friends or relatives or visiting smaller cities, villages, or rural areas where exposure might occur through contaminated food or water.

Rabies

There is a significant risk of exposure to rabies in Haiti through contact with stray animals and in any activities that might involve direct contact with bats, carnivores, and other mammals.

Zika Fever

There is transmission of the Zika virus in this country.

Yellow Fever

There is no risk of yellow fever transmission in this country. However, this country requires a yellow fever vaccination certificate for travellers over one year of age arriving from countries/territories at risk for yellow fever transmission.

Safety & Security in Haiti

Personal Safety

Gang violence has spiraled out of control across the country. In 2024, over 5,600 people were killed, marking a sharp increase from the prior year. Armed gangs control most of Port-au-Prince and have expanded their reach into the Artibonite region and other departments. Kidnapping is widespread and indiscriminate. Both planned and opportunistic abductions occur daily, targeting locals and foreigners alike, including children, aid workers, and missionaries. Ransoms often reach tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Attackers frequently use roadblocks and improvised barriers to stop vehicles, pulling victims from cars at gunpoint. Public transport users face mass kidnappings. Armed robberies, carjackings, and sexual assaults are common, particularly near the international airport and along major routes. Stray bullets from clashes between gangs and security forces pose a constant threat, even to bystanders inside their homes. Vigilante groups have emerged in response to police inability to restore order, and lynchings of suspected gang members occur regularly. Police resources are scarce and response times are unreliable. Foreigners are viewed as wealthy targets and are followed from the airport or banks. A state of emergency has been in effect since March 2024, yet violence persists unabated.

Extreme Violence

Armed gangs perpetrate extreme violence with near-total impunity. In December 2024, at least 207 people were killed in a massacre in Cité Soleil, many of them elderly individuals accused of witchcraft. Gang members mutilated and burned bodies to destroy evidence. Collective rape, sexual mutilation, and forced recruitment are used by gangs to assert territorial control and punish communities. Violence against women and girls is deliberate, systematic, and pervasive. UN agencies report a 1,000 percent increase in sexual violence against children between 2023 and 2024. Around 300 criminal groups operate across the country, many armed with high-powered weapons smuggled from abroad. Gangs control essential infrastructure including hospitals, schools, ports, and roads, attacking medical staff and humanitarian workers. Some gangs have been designated as terrorist organizations. Over one million people have been internally displaced due to violence. Clashes between gangs, police operations, and vigilante violence result in hundreds of civilian casualties monthly, many from stray bullets. Gun battles occur frequently in residential neighborhoods.

Political Unrest

The political situation remains deeply unstable. No nationally elected officials have been in office since January 2023, and parliament has been inactive since 2019. Following President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination in July 2021, acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned in early 2024 amid escalating gang violence. A Transitional Presidential Council was established in April 2024 to prepare for elections planned for February 2026, but internal disputes and corruption scandals have paralyzed the government. Gang coalitions, particularly Viv Ansanm, launched coordinated attacks in early 2024 that brought the capital to a standstill. Gang leaders exert political influence through propaganda, threats, and announcements of forming political parties. Protests and demonstrations are frequent and unpredictable. They often turn violent and can lead to roadblocks, fuel shortages, and closures of schools and businesses. The justice system is dysfunctional. Courts have been seized by criminal groups for over two years, and judicial officials face death threats. Between October 2023 and October 2024, only 241 people received criminal trials nationwide. The Multinational Security Support Mission deployed in June 2024 with Kenyan forces, but the mission is underfunded and understaffed, with fewer than 1,000 personnel deployed against an initial target of 2,500.

Areas To Avoid

Port-au-Prince and its metropolitan area are the most dangerous zones. Gangs control roughly 80 to 85 percent of the capital, including neighborhoods such as Bel Air, Carrefour, Cité Soleil, Martissant, Delmas, Croix-des-Bouquets, Tabarre, and areas around the airport. Middle-class and affluent areas outside Pétion-Ville are frequent sites of home invasions. The Artibonite department has seen sharp increases in gang violence, with the towns of Pont Sondé and Mirebalais experiencing massacres and mass displacement. The Centre department is also increasingly affected. Major highways connecting Port-au-Prince to other cities are controlled by gangs who operate checkpoints and extort travelers. The road between Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien is highly dangerous. Border areas with the Dominican Republic are volatile and subject to gang control. Land, sea, and air borders between Haiti and the Dominican Republic remain closed to travelers. The entire departments of Ouest, Artibonite, and Centre are under states of emergency. Even areas previously considered safer, such as Cap-Haïtien in the north, have experienced rising crime, though they remain relatively less dangerous than the capital.