On April 13, 2026, Haiti’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MAST), led by Minister Marc-Elie Nelson, in partnership with the country’s Social Assistance Fund (CAS), hosted a large-scale solidarity event focused on delivering tangible support to two of Haiti’s most marginalized groups: vulnerable elderly citizens and people living with disabilities.
During the gathering, Minister Nelson publicly commended CAS Director General Jhonny Raphaël for spearheading the initiative, which aligns with the government’s broader goals of reinforcing national social safety nets and fostering social stability across Haiti, a country that has long grappled with systemic socioeconomic challenges. The event was not merely a ceremonial gathering; it delivered multiple concrete, immediate interventions for attendees and local residents.
A core highlight of the day was the distribution of 13,600 monthly allowance checks to eligible beneficiaries, 3,600 of whom were first-time recipients who had recently completed their registration for the program. Complementing this financial support, CAS also deployed a fully operational mobile medical clinic on-site, which brought free primary health care and routine medical monitoring to more than 5,000 residents living in the surrounding area, addressing a critical gap in access to basic health services for low-income communities.
Minister Nelson acknowledged that Haiti continues to face widespread social hardship, and that unmet needs across vulnerable populations far outpace current government capacity. Even so, he emphasized that the initiative represents a deliberate, rapid response to the ongoing social emergency facing disadvantaged Haitian families.
In addition to rolling out immediate support, Minister Nelson used the event as a platform to announce a long-overdue administrative change at CAS: the government is preparing to formally appoint roughly 600 long-serving contract workers as full-time CAS employees. Many of these workers have remained in contract positions for more than 15 years without permanent status or the benefits that come with it, and the appointment initiative addresses this longstanding worker inequity within the institution.
For his part, Director Raphaël outlined CAS’s upcoming plans to improve service delivery to beneficiaries. The fund will roll out new administrative systems designed to streamline the monthly distribution process, ensuring beneficiaries receive their allowance checks more reliably and with fewer delays. Raphaël also confirmed that CAS is expanding its eligibility pool to include new beneficiaries from displacement and accommodation centers, extending state social support to more Haitians who have been left without formal assistance. He added that in the coming months, the fund will also process and distribute long-awaited grants to individuals and community activists who have already submitted requests for support.