On September 30, 2026, Haitian authorities formally adopted the national budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal cycle, a 401.2 billion Gourde spending plan structured around three urgent, interconnected government priorities: shoring up public security and national defense, organizing long-delayed general elections to restore democratic institutions, and driving gradual economic recovery paired with expanded social protection and regional development. The budget framework was crafted to address Haiti’s most pressing crises amid a constrained fiscal landscape, balancing immediate emergency needs with long-term national stabilization goals.
Public security and national defense stand as the budget’s top priority, reflecting the government’s recognition that restored security is a prerequisite for any progress in other sectors. A total of 73 billion Gourdes, equal to 18 percent of the entire budget, has been allocated to the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Defense to advance this goal. This funding covers all core operating costs for the Haitian National Police (PNH) and the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd’H), including personnel salaries and benefits, as well as critical operational supplies: food, fuel, upgraded equipment, maintenance, logistics coordination, communications infrastructure, and frontline operational support.
Among the key initiatives financed by this allocation is the continuation of the P-4000 police recruitment and training program, which aims to add 4,000 newly trained officers to the national police force. The funding also covers contractual payments for new security equipment for the PNH, and supports the gradual expansion of the FAd’H, which targets a total active force of 15,000 soldiers over a three-year period. Additionally, the budget earmarks funds for the construction of a new national prison, a critical investment to strengthen the country’s broken criminal justice system and reduce widespread impunity for gang-related and violent crime. A core overarching goal of this security investment is to secure Haiti’s major transportation corridors, crack down on violent armed criminal groups, and create the baseline stable conditions needed for economic activity to resume across the country.
The second core priority laid out in the budget is the organization of national elections and the restoration of fully functional democratic institutions. To support this milestone, the budget allocates 8.6 billion Gourdes to cover exceptional electoral costs, including security operations, logistics management, institutional communication, and operational support for independent election management bodies, as well as direct support to registered political parties. This figure marks a 2.7 billion Gourde increase from the 5.9 billion Gourdes allocated for electoral preparations in the 2025-2026 supplementary budget, signaling the government’s firm commitment to holding the vote as scheduled. Additional funding has also been set aside to ensure the ongoing operations of core state institutions, including the bicameral Parliament (Chamber of Deputies and Senate) and the Office of the Presidency, to accommodate the turnover of elected officials following the completion of the electoral process.
The third and final priority outlined in the budget is advancing gradual, tangible economic recovery that centers tangible benefits for Haitian communities, paired with targeted social protection investments and regional revitalization. Government planners structured the 2026-2027 budget to strike a careful balance between multiple competing demands: expanding domestic revenue mobilization, meeting urgent security and electoral obligations, expanding social safety nets for vulnerable populations, addressing critical infrastructure investment gaps, and maintaining macroeconomic fiscal discipline. In a context of severely limited national resources, the budget reflects deliberate, rigorous trade-offs between the Haitian population’s immediate social and economic needs and the long-term requirements of fiscal transparency, accountability, and sustainable stabilization. Ultimately, the spending framework is designed to guarantee continuity of core state functions, strengthen weak democratic institutions, and lay the foundational groundwork for a gradual return to robust, inclusive economic growth in the coming years.