The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Nearly half of Haiti’s population – 4.9 million people - are struggling to feed themselves while 1.8 million people are facing famine-like conditions and in need of urgent assistance, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday.
Soaring inflation and lawless armed groups are the main causes for the county sliding into a “hunger emergency”, the agency explained.
“We're now facing some of the worst food security conditions on record in Haiti, with five million people being acutely food insecure”, said Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP’s Country Director in Haiti, when speaking from Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince to media at the United Nations in Geneva. “This is significant because it's a number that's tripled in the past few years.” He added that “the situation is getting worse and Haiti is slowly sliding into a hunger emergency. This is because of violence in the country, armed groups are now affecting daily life for millions of people”.
In late 2022, catastrophic IPC (Integrated Phase Classification which describes the severity of food emergency) phase 5 which means hunger conditions were recorded in the Cité Soleil commune of the capital, Port-au-Prince, during a period of intense armed group clashes.
Due to high costs of seeds and fertilizers farmers have been forced to reduce areas at a time when the spread of armed groups has plagued rural areas with violence.
“The area of lower Artibonite, which is Haiti's breadbasket, has been the scene of confrontations between armed groups”, said WFP’s country director. “There's also been widespread inflation, which has led to the doubling of the price of a basic food basket here. This is why we have five million people now facing acute food insecurity in the country”.
According to WFP there has been a steady deterioration in food security, with the number of hungry people increasing threefold since 2016, and hunger driving criminality.
“What we need to understand about Haiti is that hunger and violence are intertwined”, said Mr. Bauer. “They feed off each other because the violence causes displacement, it causes loss of assets, it forces people to move, people lose their jobs. And that's why we have five million people in acute food insecurity, is that this violence is very much disrupted the very fabric of life in this country”.
In past years, criminal activity, political deadlock and a deepening economic crisis have contributed to a multifaceted crisis in Haiti. WFP’s operations in Haiti are underfunded and require US$ 125 million over the coming six months.
“The World Food Programme was able to reach 1.6 million people in 2022, and this year we've already been able to reach 850,000 people with essential assistance”, said WFP’s Mr. Bauer. “This means that even though the situation is dangerous, even though it's risky, we are able to help people”.
Soaring inflation has made a basic food basket unaffordable for millions of Haitians. Haiti is among the 10 countries most affected by food price inflation, according to the World Bank.
“For more than a year this country has faced a high level of food prices, and it's been an issue we're trying to respond to now in terms of our own budgets”, said Mr. Bauer. “We've had to increase the amount of money we give people to make sure that they can buy the same basket of goods. As I said, the same basket of goods in Haiti has doubled year-on-year in local currency”.
In the poorest neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince which is also the epicentre of violence in Haiti, families have been living under the control of non-state armed groups enduring restricted movement and reduced access to food, water and sanitation services.
“Haiti needs peace and security, people need to be able to send their kids to school without worrying for their safety”, emphasized Mr. Bauer. “People need to be able to go to the clinic without worrying about their own safety. Farmers need to be able to send their produce to markets without fearing for losing their work”.
-ends-
STORY: Haiti Hunger and Violence - WFP
TRT: 2:53”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 24 March 2023 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Medium shot, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide shot, press room with spokesperson on the podium
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) –Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP’s Country Director in Haiti: “We're now facing some of the worst food security conditions on record in Haiti, with 5 million people being acutely food insecure. This is significant because it's a number that's tripled in the past few years. The situation is getting worse and Haiti is slowly sliding into a hunger emergency. This is because of violence in the country. Armed groups are now affecting daily life for millions of people”.
- Clos up, handy typing in laptop
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP’s Country Director in Haiti: “The area of lower Artibonite, which is Haiti's breadbasket, has been the scene of confrontations between armed groups. There's also been widespread inflation, which has led to the doubling of the price of a basic food basket here. This is why we have 5 million people now facing acute food insecurity in the country”.
- Medium shot, journalists listening
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP’s Country Director in Haiti: “What we need to understand about Haiti is that hunger and violence are intertwined. They feed off each other because the violence causes displacement, it causes loss of assets, it forces people to move, people lose their jobs. And that's why we have 5 million people in acute food insecurity, is that this violence is very much disrupted the very fabric of life in this country”.
- Medium shot, journalists listening
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP’s Country Director in Haiti: “The World Food Program was able to reach 1.6 million people in 2022, and this year we've already been able to reach 850,000 people with essential assistance. This means that even though the situation is dangerous, even though it's risky, we are able to help people”.
- Close up, journalist listening
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP’s Country Director in Haiti: “More than a year this country has faced a high level of food prices, and it's been an issue we're trying to respond to now in terms of our own budgets. We've had to increase the amount of money we give people to make sure that they can buy the same basket of goods. As I said, the same basket of goods in Haiti has doubled year on year in local currency”.
- Close up, hands typing on laptop
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP’s Country Director in Haiti:” Haiti needs peace and security. People need to be able to send their kids to school without worrying for their safety. People need to be able to go to the clinic without worrying about their own safety. Farmers need to be able to send their produce to markets without fearing for losing their work”.
- Medium shot, journalists and screen with speakers in the background
- Close up, hands typing on laptop
- Medium shot, journalists listening
Similar Stories
1
1
2
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Sudan: Women’s bodies ‘a crime scene’ as tens of thousands flee El Fasher atrocities – UN Women
In war-torn Sudan rape is being systematically used as a weapon and simply being a woman is ‘a strong predictor’ of facing hunger, violence and death, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Friday called for an end to continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where “unchecked” settler violence has surged since the war in Gaza began more than two years ago.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
The crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to worsen amid ongoing fighting that has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and created acute hunger, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gaza: One million receive food parcels as humanitarians race to ‘push back hunger’
Food is slowly returning to the shelves in Gaza amid “apocalyptic scenes” but supplies are still desperately inadequate, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, as they issued fresh calls for wider access and continued financial support.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva of more details that are emerging on the atrocities committed in El Fasher, in Sudan during and after its takeover by the Rapid Support Forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Sudan: UN Raises Alarm Over Mass Atrocities in El Fasher as Survivors Report Executions, Killings and Rapes
More details continue to emerge about atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan on 23 October. Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN Human Rights Office has received “horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,” said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
Ukraine: Russian attacks on energy terrorize population as winter starts; could trigger major ‘crisis within crisis’
The UN’s top aid official in Ukraine expressed concern on Friday about “continuous attacks” on energy production sites and distribution facilities.
1
1
1
Edited News | HRC
Navi Pillay Retires After Decades Defending Human Rights and Pursuing Justice
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The telecommunications shutdowns in Afghanistan in September had serious and far-reaching impacts on people’s lives, according to a briefing paper published today by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence at the UN Geneva press briefing made the following comment on the ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment.