Increased violence in the capital drives tens of thousands of Haitians from their homes, leaving them reliant on food aid
PORT-AU-PRINCE – An uptick in violence in Port-au-Prince since mid-August 2023 has driven approximately 40,000 people from their homes in several neighbourhoods of the capital, exacerbating an already complex humanitarian crisis, where almost half of the country faces acute levels of food insecurity.
Women, children, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups are bearing the brunt of a brutal conflict in which dozens of armed groups battle over territory. In the last two-and-a-half months alone, hundreds of civilians have been killed in the crossfire, and tens of thousands of have been chased from their homes in the neighbourhoods of Carrefour-Feuilles, Savane Pistache, Mirebalais, Saut d’Eau and Tabarre, often fleeing with just the clothes they are wearing.
These recent movements bring the total number of displaced people across the country to over 200,000. Many of the affected people report their homes have been burned and businesses destroyed, leaving them with few possessions and no source of income.
Displaced people have taken shelter in over 90 different locations around Port-au-Prince, including schools, churches and abandoned buildings. WFP and its partners have supported the government in distributing 550,000 hot meals to the latest victims of the crisis in Haiti since mid-August, but funding cuts mean WFP has been unable to deliver continuous assistance to all those in need, often only providing one meal a day instead of the usual two meals.
“Even before this most recent wave of displacement, Haiti was already in the midst of its worst humanitarian crisis since the 2010 earthquake. Economic woes and climate-related stressors are important factors, but the main driver of hunger in Haiti is violence and insecurity. At this moment of almost unprecedented need, funding has just not kept apace, and we urgently need US$ 136 million to meet the needs of the most vulnerable Haitians over the next six months,” said Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP’s Country Director in Haiti.
In the face of the crisis, WFP set up three central kitchens in Port-au-Prince, where each day as many as 22,000 meals are prepared and then transported to various sites where displaced people are staying. Central kitchens use existing WFP stocks of dry rations including rice and dried beans, in combination with fresh vegetables, and meat or fish.
WFP is in the process of shifting from serving hot meals to providing cash assistance to displaced people. This allows families to choose which foods are best suited to their individual needs, while also boosting the local economy.
The effect of displacement is also being felt in towns and cities around the country, where schools report an increase in enrollment due to families fleeing the capital for relative safety in rural areas. Recently-displaced children who attend schools which are already part of WFP’s country-wide school meals programme are also able to benefit from this support. The programme provides daily hot meals for 460,000 students across Haiti.
The latest IPC food security analysis indicates that 4.35 million Haitians face acute food insecurity from August 2023 to February 2024. This accounts for 44 percent of the total population.
So far this year, WFP has assisted nearly 1.7 million people in Haiti with over US$ 47 million in cash-based transfers and 7,500 MT of dry food rations essential to meeting their basic food needs. In addition to emergency response, WFP also works to address the root causes of hunger through several channels including by establishing a social safety net in collaboration with the government, assisting communities in building or rehabilitating infrastructure such as water management and irrigation systems, and helping Haitians to mitigate climate-related challenges through anticipatory actions. Each month, WFP purchases over a million dollars’ worth of local produce, empowering farmers and supporting local markets.