Despite efforts to prioritize food purchases from local producers, WFP is concerned that its food stocks risk running out by the end of April. WFP has only enough food in the country to feed 175,000 people for one month. The closure of Haiti's main port and airport in Port-au-Prince about a month ago has disrupted the flow of supplies into the country.
"WFP is doing everything possible to reach the most vulnerable people, but at the current rate we will run out of food stocks by the end of April. We need the port in the capital to reopen immediately to bring in fresh supplies. We also need unimpeded access to transport food across the country to ensure the continuity of our programmes," said Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP's Country Director in Haiti.
Key elements of WFP's operations in Haiti since 1 March:
- WFP has provided food to over 500,000 people across the country.
- 560,000 hot meals were distributed to over 80,000 people in Port-au-Prince and other locations.
- 290,000 children received hot meals in schools, where WFP has prioritized locally purchased food.
- 80,000 people in the Grand Anse Department, where emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC4) were recently reported, received cash under WFP's social protection programme.
- WFP purchased over 520 metric tons of food from local producers, valued at approximately US$ 1million, enough to feed more than 160,000 school children.
- WFP has a five-year roadmap to tackle hunger in Haiti, by working with the government to engage local farmers, providing cash transfers that stimulate the local economy and building social safety nets that boost families' resistance to shocks.
Background:
- Food prices in Haiti are skyrocketing, driving affordable meals out of reach for millions of families. According to a WFP market analysis, the price of maize from March 2023 to March 2024 increased by 42 percent, and that of rice by 35 percent.
- Violence continues to erode food security. More than two in three households saw significant income drops, and seven in ten departments reported higher food prices than in January.
- The first ever IPC acute malnutrition analysis of Haiti found that nearly 277,000 children under 2 are facing or expected to face acute malnutrition by November 2024, including 125,000 children who are severely malnourished.
- Food insecurity in Haiti has reached levels not seen since the 2010 earthquake, with half of the population or 5 million people acutely food insecure, according to the March 2024 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report.
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