HAITI: ONE IN FIVE FAMILIES ON VERGE OF FAMINE IN PORT-AU-PRINCE AS GANG VIOLENCE GRIPS CAPITAL

PORT-AU-PRINCE, 26 March 2024 – About five million people in Haiti, including one in two children, are now facing acute levels of food insecurity, with 20% of families in the capital alone one step away from famine, Save the Children said.

Soaring gang violence and dwindling aid in Haiti are fuelling an unprecedented hunger crisis in the country. According to an analysis of data from the Integrated Food Security Classification or IPC scale, a monitoring system for assessing hunger emergencies, more than 1.6 million people in Haiti are on the verge of famine and more than 600,000 of them are children. The situation in the country has deteriorated significantly over the last few years, going from 3.7 million food insecure and hungry Haitians in 2019 to nearly five million in 2024 – almost half of the country’s population.

Armed violence in Haiti has turned urban areas into battlefields, resulting in the displacement of more than 360,000 people. Gang violence and roadblocks have also hindered the flow of essential goods, leading to spikes in food prices and restricting aid organisations from distributing lifesaving food.

Chantal Sylvie Imbeault, Save the Children’s Country Director in Haiti, said:

"The crisis unfolding in Haiti is rapidly deteriorating, with gangs tightening their grip on approximately 90% of Port-au-Prince. Families are losing their source of livelihoods and being denied access to essential food and medical services. Shockingly, one in five families in the Port-au-Prince metro area is now one step away from famine, with armed violence and roadblocks obstructing humanitarian efforts. Aid organisations are scrambling to provide aid any way they can.

“Newly released data underscores the gravity of the situation, revealing that an additional 200,000 children will plunge into acute hunger between March and June. That will bring the total number of children confronting acute food insecurity to nearly two million. If gang violence deteriorates further in Haiti, the threat of famine will only loom larger and take lives.”

All parties must do their utmost to protect children and abide by international humanitarian law. Save the Children is also calling on the international community to urgently increase humanitarian funding for the crisis in Haiti.

Save the Children is working around the clock to support children who are trapped in a deadly cycle of violence, poverty and hunger. The child right’s organisation is providing cash so families can buy food and other essentials, and delivering health and nutrition support, including treating children for malnutrition and providing nutrition counselling to caregivers. Save the Children is also supporting children to access water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, to continue learning and ensuring they are protected from harm, exploitation and abuse. Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1978, in both urban and rural communities.   

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

• According to newly released IPC data, 4.97 million people of the 91% of the population analysed in Haiti are expected to face acute food insecurity, IPC Phase 3+, between March and June 2024 – a 532,000 increase compared to the last IPC report in August 2023. Of the 4.97 million people facing IPC Phase 3+, 38% are estimated to be children, about 1.9 million.  Between March and June, 1.64 million people are expected to be in IPC Phase 4– emergency levels of hunger – just one step away from IPC 5, the worst phase, classified as ‘famine’ where extreme lack of food and other basic needs where starvation, death, and destitution are evident.  In Port-au-Prince, about 20% or 191,000 households the IPC analysed, are expected to face IPC Phase 4.   IPC_Haiti_Acute_Food_Insecurity_Projection_Update_Mar_Jun2024_Snapshot_English.pdf (ipcinfo.org)
• Migration Data and Resources | IOM Haiti, UN Migration | IOM Haiti