3.6 Million People in Haiti Face Food Insecurity: CNSA

According to an Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) conducted by the World Food Programme (WFP) in collaboration with the National Food Security Coordination (CNSA), 3.6 million of people across the country are suffering food insecurity of which 1.5 million are facing a level of acute food insecurity.

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The CNSA outlined that 81 percent of the households were affected by the 2015 drought and 89 percent said they lost their agricultural production. Seventy-two percent reported missing more than 80 percent of their output. Small producers are the most vulnerable population, the CNSA said. 

Since then, drought conditions in parts of Haiti have limited livelihood opportunities, notably agriculture, livestock activities and exacerbated acute food insecurity. Moreover, the ongoing political instability contributed to the relative weakness of the Haitian currency and resulted in increasing imported food prices, making it more difficult for vulnerable households to afford enough to eat. 

According to a study released on March by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the deterioration of food security in Haiti is likely to continue in 2019, mainly due to the persistence of the phenomenon El Niño which accentuates the effects of drought on agricultural production.