Famine affects almost half of Haiti’s population

Almost half the population of Haiti (about 4.9 million) is experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the latest analysis of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC, March 2023).

This figure represents an increase of 200,000 people in just five months. And of the total number of people affected, 1.8 million are in an emergency situation (IPC stage 4), which is a higher number than the analysis in the last three years.

This means that households face severe deprivation leading to high acute malnutrition and excess mortality, or are forced to adopt negative coping mechanisms to cover food needs, such as selling their productive assets or consuming seeds instead of planting, which increases their vulnerability.

With 75% of Haiti’s population living in rural areas, urgent action is needed to save lives and quickly restore the livelihoods of vulnerable farmers.

For example, investing $125 in a packet of horticultural seeds can generate 20 times more value in vegetable productionenabling families to access food and generate income by selling part of the obtained product.

Under the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is seeking $61.7 million to help 700,000 people improve their access to food.

Activities will be focused on the supply of agricultural inputs (seeds and fertilizers) in order to increase the production of basic food products and vegetables (spring and winter season 2023), as well as on the protection of livestock assets, through the supply of poultry and goats, as well as vaccination and veterinary treatment.

Haiti is going through a protracted crisis that has become more acute and complex than ever. Added to the socioeconomic effects of the covid-19 pandemic are the war in Ukraine, the outbreak of cholera and the impact of extreme events such as hurricanes, floods and earthquakes.

The purchasing power of households continues to be affected by high food prices, associated with the depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar and the increase in transportation costs. This, along with poor harvests, forced the population to increasingly resort to negative mechanisms to meet their basic needs.

The violence of gangs and armed groups threatens the security of communities and continues to hinder their access to agricultural inputs and food.