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The number of Haitians facing emergency-level food insecurity is the second-highest in the world. They also represent one of the highest levels of chronic food insecurity, with 22 percent of children chronically malnourished.
The director of the World Food Program in Haiti, Jean-Martin Bauer announced on July 17 that the country has 25 percent fewer resources. The UN representative said the amount of the cut will be greater if new funds or donors do not support the organization soon.
Hunger is tightening its grip on vulnerable Haitians in a deepening humanitarian crisis. The complex emergency situation across the country, which has one of the highest levels of food insecurity in the world, has been compounded by insecurity, violence, deepening economic woes, and a cholera outbreak.
Given this situation, nearly 100,000 Haitians will be left without food aid this month. The figure could even reach 750,000, unless the program receives 121 million dollars between now and the end of the year.
Martin Bauer recognizes this as a pivotal moment due to the strong humanitarian crisis that the Haitian people are experiencing at this very moment. A crisis at all levels, where insecurity is already in itself a danger to life, added to other problems such as climate change and the economic crisis.
Due to lack of sufficient funding, the World Food Program (WFP) announced on Monday that it had reduced its food aid by 25% in July in Haiti, where nearly half of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance.#CGTNAmerica
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) July 17, 2023
The growing crisis is severely impacting the health and nutrition of Haitian children, who have limited access to nutritious food. This is compromising their development at an early age, which can lead to lifelong health issues.
Haiti ranks 116th out of the 121 countries, according to a report by Plan International Latin America. The number of Haitians facing emergency-level food insecurity is the second-highest in the world. They also represent one of the highest levels of chronic food insecurity, with 22 percent of children chronically malnourished. Given this situation, a total of 4.9 million people urgently need help. This situation of hunger occurs in a context of deep insecurity.
"Haiti’s hunger crisis is unseen, unheard, and unaddressed," has said World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Cindy McCain, who visited the country in June.
"Violence and climate shocks capture the headlines, but we don't hear as much about the 4.9 million Haitians struggling to eat day-to-day," she added.
During 2023, the program will have provided 450,000 children with a hot meal, which is often the only meal they have for the day. Today, this hot meal and the rest of the assistance program are only 16 percent funded, according to Bauer.
In the midst of this warning, the EU sent 10 million euros to Haiti, for a total of 18.5 million euros of aid from Brussels to the Caribbean country this year. "As we celebrate the fruitful partnership between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean, helping the people of Haiti remains our main concern and priority in the region," said the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic.
He added, "We hope that within the context of the meeting that opens today between CELAC and the European Union, in addition to the visit of CARICOM representatives to the island, a true 'return' of the international community to Haiti will germinate. A return that not only helps to finance assistance programs but also guarantees that this aid is not also undermined by the insecurity and corruption prevailing in Haitian society."
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