UN (AP) – The UN Food Agency requires $46 million over the next six months to provide food for nearly 2 million Haitians, including 8,500 experiencing the most severe levels of hunger during this period.
The appeal was announced by Laura Castro, regional director of the World Food Program for Latin America and the Caribbean. Gang violence has escalated, leading to the evacuation of over a million people and leaving half of the population (5.7 million) in urgent need of food assistance.
Among these, 2 million are classified in the two worst categories of integrated food security, according to the main international authority on the hunger crisis, with 8,500 in the direst phase five category. This indicates that at least one in five individuals or families is severely food insecure, grappling with hunger and poverty.
Haiti is among only five countries worldwide with people in the phase 5 category of catastrophic hunger. Castro noted, “It’s truly alarming to see this in the Western Hemisphere.”
Gang control has intensified since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, with estimates suggesting gangs currently manage 85% of the capital and are expanding into surrounding areas. The country has been without a president since the assassination, and the UN chief indicated in April that the nation could descend into “total chaos” without the necessary funds to confront gang activities.
A UN security mission, led by Kenyan police, was deployed to Haiti last year to address gang violence but is currently only 40% staffed compared to the planned 2,500 personnel, leaving it both understaffed and underfunded.
The WFP, the largest humanitarian organization globally and a UN agency, is facing funding cuts, primarily from the U.S., which accounts for nearly half of its funding in 2024.
Castro reported that WFP reached over 1.3 million individuals this year using leftover funds from the previous year. However, the agency is expecting severe challenges only until July for emergency responses, new evacuations, or hurricane relief.
Over the past four years, Castro mentioned that WFP typically has provisions to assist between 250,000 and 500,000 people in emergencies.
“This year, we will begin hurricane season with empty warehouses and insufficient resources to respond to emergencies, restrict local food purchases in some areas, or provide timely humanitarian aid,” Castro explained. “We are highly concerned that a single storm could push hundreds of thousands more Haitians back into humanitarian crisis and hunger.”
WFP usually provides daily meals to around half a million schoolchildren, but without additional funding, this number will be halved, she stated during a video press conference on Tuesday.
For $46 million, she conveyed, WFP could assist the 2 million Haitians most in need, maintain school lunch programs for half a million children, and extend social protection to highly vulnerable individuals in displacement camps.
Castro urged not to overlook Haiti amid other global crises, appealing to donors for generosity. “We truly need to act now and combat hunger,” she insisted. “We continue to call for support to our humanitarian communities.”
For the requested $46 million, WFP highlighted that it could aid 2 million Haitians in the two most critical IPC categories, keep providing school lunches to half a million children, and ensure social protection for vulnerable populations in displaced persons camps.
Source: apnews.com