Overview:
OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin presented a revised $2.6 billion roadmap to support Haiti’s stability, featuring a $1.3 billion security fund as its core. While member states welcomed the plan as a sign of solidarity, the U.S. warned the security budget may still fall short, and Argentina questioned funding clarity and OAS coordination. Haiti’s representative insisted the roadmap reflect national priorities to avoid empty promises. The plan spans 2025–2028, with a 30-day rollout and up to 36 months to restore public security amid gang violence and economic collapse.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — The Organization of American States, OAS, on Aug. 20 unveiled a $2.6 billion roadmap to pull Haiti back from collapse, more than doubling its security budget to $1.3 billion in a bid to confront gangs that control most of Port-au-Prince.
The plan, presented by OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin to the Permanent Council, sets out a three-year framework that ties emergency security measures to longer-term political and economic reforms. Officials said the goal is not just to restore order, but to rebuild Haitian institutions capable of sustaining peace.
“The goal is not simply to provide aid, but to lay the foundation for something lasting and sustainable over time,” Ramdin said.
The roadmap, titled “Towards a Haitian Roadmap for Stability and Peace with Regional and International Support,” is Haitian-led but designed to coordinate international backing through the OAS, CARICOM, and the United Nations. It will run from 2025 to 2028, beginning with a 30-day startup phase before an initial review.
The new draft dramatically increases funding compared to the first version, raising the total from $1.37 billion to $2.6 billion. The budget is divided across five main pillars, with one additional line set aside for managing the process itself:
- Security: once a $96 million line item, now commands $1.3 billion
- Humanitarian aid: $908.2 million
- Elections and institutional legitimacy: $104.1 million
- Sustainable development: $256.1 million
- Governance reforms: $8 million
- Organizational management of the process: $10 million
Member states broadly welcomed the plan as a show of regional solidarity, but not without reserve. Some countries —such as the United States and Argentina—raised concerns. The U.S. delegation warned that even the larger security budget may fall short, while Argentina questioned how the funds would be sourced and whether the OAS could effectively coordinate such a sprawling effort.
Still, Haiti’s representative endorsed the plan — but emphasized the requirement that the document be led by Haiti. The country’s OAS representative said it should ultimately be a collective effort aimed at mobilizing resources aligned with Haitian priorities, to avoid becoming empty rhetoric.
“The roadmap must reflect Haiti’s priorities, both in its substance and its budget,” said Haiti’s representative. “Part of the new president of the Transitional Presidential Council, Laurent Saint-Cyr, emphasized that, today, the voices of 12 million men and women are rising to demand one thing: security.”
The roadmap presentation comes as Haiti sinks deeper into an unprecedented crisis; insecurity dominates daily life, with more than 3,000 people killed in the first half of 2025 alone. Armed groups now control nearly 90 percent of Port-au-Prince, displacing 1.3 million people and leaving 4.7 million in acute food insecurity. Health services have collapsed, with fewer than a quarter of clinics in critical zones still functioning.
“Security is the key to hope, learning, growth, and fulfillment. It is not just an absolute priority—it is the essential foundation for all other pillars of this transition. Without it, everything else collapses.”
“No single actor can resolve this crisis alone,” Ramdin told the council.
The roadmap remains a draft, with version three expected soon, but OAS leaders stressed the need to move quickly.
“No plan will ever be perfect,” Ramdin said. “But we cannot limit ourselves to words. Haiti needs action — now.”
Ramdin called for an international donors conference and said the plan will include a monitoring dashboard to track progress and contributions. A series of additional meetings is planned before the plan is finalized and adopted.