Food Security & Nutrition

• Acute food insecurity: Around 1.3 million people face acute food insecurity, with rural agricultural regions and border provinces disproportionately impacted.
  
• Drivers include drought and climate variability, rising food prices, and reduced agricultural income.
• Staple foods (rice, beans, maize) show price volatility due to input costs and import dependence.
• School feeding programs remain a critical nutrition safety net.

Rural Livelihoods & Agriculture

• Smallholder farmers (especially rice, beans, coffee) face:
• Erratic rainfall linked to El Niño / climate shifts
  
• Soil degradation and reduced yields
  
• Limited access to credit, irrigation, or post-harvest storage
  
• Migration of youth away from agriculture
• Many households rely on subsistence farming + informal labor markets, leaving them economically exposed.
• Haitian migrants provide a significant share of labor in agriculture, construction, and informal markets, often without formal contracts or labor protections.
• Average wages for Haitian migrant workers are typically 20–40% lower than for Dominican-born workers in the same roles.

Migration, Border Conditions & Protection

• The border region has significant humanitarian pressures involving Haitian migrants, Mixed-status families, and Seasonal laborers in agriculture and construction.
  
• Around 133,000+ people of Haitian descent in the DR lack recognized nationality, leaving them at risk of statelessness.
  
• In 2023–2024, the DR increased deportations, including pregnant women, Haitian migrants, and individuals lacking documentation.
  
• Many deportations occur without family tracing or case assessment, increasing risks of family separation.

Health & WASH

• Health system is functional overall, but rural and border facilities face shortages of skilled personnel.
  
• Access to prenatal and maternal care is uneven, especially for migrant mothers.
  
• Water access in rural communities varies; intermittent supply and reliance on untreated sources increase waterborne disease risk.
  
• Haitian and Haitian-descendant women face higher barriers to prenatal care, including documentation, transportation, and discrimination.
  
• Border hospitals report elevated maternal health caseloads but limited staffing and referral capacity.

Education & Social Services

• School attendance is high nationally but lower in agricultural communities where children support seasonal labor.
  
• Language and documentation barriers affect Haitian and binational children, especially near Dajabón, Elías Piña, and Barahona.
  
• Haitian and binational children are 2–3x more likely to be out of school. Key barriers include documentation requirements, language (Kreyòl/Spanish), and discrimination.