The people of Haiti are experiencing a period of exceptional instability and heightened violence, with deepening levels of poverty, displacement, and hunger, particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince. The epicenter of this turmoil is the densely populated commune of Cité Soleil, where gang warfare has reached unprecedented ferocity. On one day alone, July 8, 2022, gang members murdered 95 people in the area, including six children (UN OHCHR 2023).

As violence has intensified and people’s movement within Cité Soleil has become increasingly restricted, residents have become more reliant on local vendors, who find their supplies constrained by the challenging environment. Available food is low in quality, and the population’s nutrition is worsening.

The Manje pi Byen (“Eat Better”) program, implemented by Concern and local partners and supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, aims to improve the resilience of extremely vulnerable people in Cité Soleil and help them move out of extreme poverty. The program has four core components:

1. nutrition and food security assistance;
2. economic recovery and market systems;
3. protection from gender-based violence; and
4. water, sanitation, and hygiene.

The program’s nutrition awareness activities are designed to improve people’s nutrition habits in the long term, and its capacity-strengthening activities are aimed at sustainably strengthening vendors’ livelihoods and income sources while also helping them provide high-quality food items to their communities.

Josef Quetal, a food vendor who is married with two children, lives in the neighborhood of Ti Ayiti in Cité Soleil. He reports significant benefits from the Manje pi Byen program: “I have been a participant in the program for two years. Manje pi Byen has helped me improve my business and the nutrition of my customers, but it has also helped my family to live and eat better. I can afford school fees.”

He adds: “Before participating in the Mange Pi Byen program, there wasn’t enough food for the community here. There wasn’t enough money for supplies. Before the project I was selling to about 10 people, but now I sell to over 50, maybe 60 people, in the community. I sell fruits, vegetables, beans, pulses, eggs, vegetable oil, and meat. I hope the program will continue in the future because I would like to grow my business even more and expand to selling construction materials, as well as food.”

1. This case study was prepared by Concern Worldwide. Two Haitian partners work with Concern Worldwide on the protection sector of the Mange pi Byen program. IDEO supports psychosocial activities, especially individual support, while Nègès Mawon leads gender-based violence (GBV) survivor case management and provides peer-to-peer support for GBV survivors.