Haiti on the Brink: WFP Scales up as Violence Fuels Displacement and Hunger
Amid escalating violence and hunger, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) stands firm together with the dedicated staff and volunteers of its Haitian partner organizations to scale up food distributions, hot meals and cash grants, which enable people to buy the foods they need amid ever-soaring prices.
A newspaper photograph shows a man carrying two car tires to feed into a burning barricade – the last line of defense between his neighborhood and the armed groups hellbent on taking it over. Such groups issue chilling warnings, in some areas by placing human skulls on stakes in the middle of the road.
Lucienne, a mother of five, is among those trapped in Croix-des-Bouquets in the north of Port-au-Prince. The area is part of the fiefdom of one of the dozens of armed groups operating in the capital and has been cut off from humanitarian assistance for years. “For me, the situation is truly catastrophic,” she said.
“Sometimes, we have nothing to eat. We go through the day and night with nothing – it’s the truth, as hard as it may be.” She added, “Sometimes, we only eat once a day. I prepare a meal in the morning before the children go to school, but after that, I have nothing left to give them. I go to ask for help from neighbours or friends. Some of them give me a bit of corn. When I don’t have charcoal, I cook the food using wood. When I have nothing to give the children, they cry. It’s very sad.”
In November, the U.N. World Food Programme made an important breakthrough, negotiating access to truck in over 660,000 pounds of rice, beans and oil into the besieged neighborhood – enough to assist 50,000 people.
“This is the first time an organization has come to our area to give us food,” said Lucienne through tears. “This food is helping us so much. We had nothing to give the children before, but now this is a great help.” By the end of 2024, amid such hardship, over 700,000 people – mainly in Port-au-Prince and Artibonite – fled their homes, hoping for the best in makeshift shelters, schools, and government buildings. The figure is unprecedented and poses unthinkable consequences for women and girls. In Haiti, the unthinkable is the everyday.
The latest food security data reveals that 1 in 2 Haitians do not have enough to eat. 2 million people face emergency levels of hunger at IPC4 on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, while around 6,000 displaced people face catastrophic hunger at IPC5. In November, the U.N. World Food Programme and its partners served a record 834,664 hot meals at 48 sites housing displaced people, including people forced to flee in the latest uptick of fighting.
Below, U.N. World Food Programme Country Director for Haiti Wanja Kaaria tells us more.
Q: Several false news reports have indicated that the U.N. is pulling out of Haiti. Can you set the record straight?
Wanja Kaaria: The U.N. World Food Programme is not leaving Haiti. We’re here to stay as long as people need us, as long as there are vulnerable people to reach. The U.N. World Food Programme is currently distributing food to over 50,000 internally displaced people, and we served a record total of more than 834,000 hot meals in November at 48 sites. So, we’re not going anywhere. We’re staying to help, no matter what.
Q: Tell us about what’s happening in terms of school meals.
Wanja Kaaria: We’re working with the government to scale up school meals, and right now, we’re reaching more than 470,000 children. The great part is that we’re buying much of the food locally and helping small-scale farmers. It’s a win-win. The government’s goal is for all the food in schools to be locally produced, and we want to help make that happen.
Q: What about access to areas in Port-au-Prince?
Wanja Kaaria: We’ve made some real progress in getting access to areas in Port-au-Prince. Our access negotiation team has been working nonstop to make sure we can reach the people most in need, wherever they are. We are currently wrapping up a round of rice, beans and oil distribution reaching 150,000 people in multiple hard-to-reach neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince.
Q: Why is WFP scaling up right now in Haiti?
Wanja Kaaria: The situation in Haiti is getting more critical. A recent food security analysis showed that nearly half the population is acutely food insecure, and 277,000 children are acutely malnourished. With over 700,000 people displaced and floods making things worse, the need for support is huge. We’re focusing on getting emergency assistance to people right now but also thinking long-term. We want to help them rebuild and ensure they’re less vulnerable to future shocks. We don’t want them to rely on aid forever.
Q: What role is UNHAS – the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service – playing in Haiti?
Wanja Kaaria: UNHAS is helping us get to places we couldn’t reach otherwise. They have two aircraft: a helicopter for the hardest-to-reach spots, and a fixed-wing aircraft that lets us cover more ground. These aren’t just for the U.N. World Food Programme – the entire humanitarian community uses them to get workers and supplies for those who need them. Currently, there are 5.4 million people in need of food assistance in Haiti, and without UNHAS, reaching all of them would be much more complicated.
In November, the U.N. World Food Programme chartered two maritime vessels to transport 21 trucks loaded with food, medicine and health supplies from Port-au-Prince to the southern region. This will enable the agency to position food stocks for its operations and those of local partners in the southern region. Medicine and health commodities that have been out of stock for months at health centers will also be replenished.
The U.N. World Food Programme plans to expand food assistance operations in response to growing needs, targeting 1.85 million, individuals with emergency relief while supporting efforts to strengthen national resilient systems. The U.N. World Food Programme requires $94 million to fund its operations for the next six months.
This blog originally appeared on WFP’s Stories on December 2, 2024 and was written by Tanya Birkbeck.
