4 million people experience “acute food insecurity” – UN

Four million people don’t have enough food to eat and one million of them are very close to starving, according to the head of the UN food agency in the Caribbean nation that is torn by conflict.

Jean-Martin Bauer said in an online meeting that he is very worried about the recent rise in gang violence. The situation has become even worse and an extra 15,000 people had to leave their homes in Port-au-Prince in just one weekend in March.

He said there are now more than 360,000 people who had to move from their homes in Haiti, and the UN says half of them are kids.

Bauer said that in 2020, four million people in Haiti didn’t have enough food to eat because of COVID. That number hasn’t gone down, and now one million more people are in danger of not having enough to eat.

Port-au-Prince is now controlled by gangs, the roads are dangerous, and the port and airport are closed. Nobody can enter or leave the city.

The director of the World Food Program said they are providing hot meals to people who have recently been forced to leave their homes in the capital city. They started with 2,000 meals a day and now they are giving out almost 14,000 meals a day.

He said the warehouse will run out of supplies soon if the port doesn’t reopen to bring in more food.

Haiti gets half of its food from other countries, and WFP says the cost of food is going up in Port-au-Prince and all over Haiti.

In January, there were problems and food prices went up by 25% in the southern region. This happened because roadblocks were set up and trucks couldn’t bring important things to Port-au-Prince. There was also not enough propane, which is needed for cooking and fuel.

Lately, food prices have gone up by at least 10 per cent because of the gang violence.

He said the economy in rural areas outside the capital depends on connections to Port-au-Prince. The prices of food have also gone up in other parts of the country because trade has been disrupted.

A survey by WFP discovered that when prices increase, people’s incomes decrease because they can’t work, stay at home, and are not making money.

When asked about how Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation will affect things, Bauer said he’s not good at understanding politics, but he hopes security will get better.

People are feeling scared to do everyday things like taking their kids to school, going to the store, or going to work. They think these things are very dangerous.

Speaking from the northern part of Haiti, Bauer emphasized that we can’t only focus on security.

“He said we also need a strong and effective help for people in need,”

The UN asked for $674 million to help Haiti, but only 2. 6% of that amount has been given.

Bauer said that because of supplies WFP can buy from local farmers, they were able to give food to about 160,000 school children in some parts of Haiti on Monday. This is part of a continuing program.

He said that even though it’s hard to get to certain areas because of the fighting, WFP gave money to some of the poorest people in Haiti using their mobile phones.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday that a lot of hospitals and clinics have had to close because of the gang violence.

There is not enough blood at the National Blood Transfusion Centre. They are trying to bring in blood from the Dominican Republic to help.