The Horror that is Haiti

 An unrelenting series of crises has trapped vulnerable Haitians in a cycle of growing desperation, without access to food, fuel, markets, jobs and public services, bringing the country to a standstill, warn the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Natural hazards and political turmoil have taken a toll on Haitians who were already in need in both rural and urban areas. The onset of the global food crisis, with rising food and fuel prices, has led to growing civil unrest that has plunged Haiti into chaos, completely paralyzing economic activities and transport.

 Hunger has reached Catastrophic levels, or the highest level, 5 on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), in Cité Soleil, an urban neighborhood in Port-au-Price, Haiti. A record 4.7 million people are currently facing acute hunger (IPC 3 and above), including 1.8 million people in Emergency phase (IPC 4) and, for the first time ever in Haiti, 19,000 people are in Catastrophe phase (IPC 5). Food security has also continued to deteriorate in rural areas, with several going from Crisis (IPC 3) to Emergency phase (IPC 4). Harvest losses due to below average rainfall and the 2021 earthquake that devastated parts of the Grand´Anse, Nippes and Sud departments are among the shocks that worsened conditions

Cité Soleil has seen a worrisome rise in food insecurity over three years. Currently, 65 percent of its population, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, are in high levels of food insecurity with 5 percent of them in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Increased violence in Cité Soleil, with armed groups vying for control of the area has meant that residents have lost access to their work, markets and health and nutrition services. Many have been forced to flee or hide in their homes.

The basic food basket is out of reach for many Haitians. Inflation stands at a staggering 33 percent and the cost of petrol has doubled. The situation is being further exacerbated by a recent cholera outbreak and the lack of drinkable water which is likely to push more people to the brink of survival.

“We need to help Haitians produce better, more nutritious food to safeguard their livelihoods and their futures, especially in the context of a worsening food crisis,” said José Luis Fernández Filgueiras, FAO Representative in Haiti. 

FAO urgently requires some $33 million to assist more than 470,000 of the most vulnerable people. FAO aims to scale up operations in Haiti from 560,000 people targeted in 2022 to 876,000 people in 2023.

Catastrophic hunger levels recorded for the first time in Haiti - Haiti | ReliefWeb