International organizations say inflation and poor harvests have pushed Haiti to its worst-ever level of food insecurity. Many desperate people have also had their lands taken over and their crops destroyed by armed groups.
“Growing hunger is fueling the security crisis that is ravaging the country,” said Jean-Martin Bauer, Director of the United Nations World Food Program (WFB) in Haiti. We need urgent action now instead of waiting for a large-scale response.”
People flee gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on March 21, 3. Photo: Reuters
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) program – which sets the hunger scale used by the United Nations – said in a report that about 4,97 million people out of a population of about 11,5 .XNUMX million of Haiti's population are facing crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.
Accordingly, there are currently eight areas assessed as being in the emergency stage - the worst level before the famine, including the Artibonite valley, rural areas of the Grand-Anse peninsula and neighboring areas of capital of Haiti like the impoverished Cite Soleil district.
Of the above areas, the Artibonite Valley is Haiti's agricultural heartland, which has been heavily attacked by gangs expanding from the capital Port-au-Prince.
The IPC report found that only 5% of Haitians received humanitarian food aid, and WFP said these operations were “poorly funded.”
According to United Nations data, more than 30.000 people fled violence in the capital in just two weeks this month. Most of them are people who have lost their homes and are living in camps or relying on other families.
Authorities in the neighboring Dominican Republic, which has deported tens of thousands of Haitian migrants, said they disagreed on an air route announced by the United Nations to deliver aid to Haiti. They said the airways were for evacuating foreigners.
Laurent Uwumuremyi, head of the Haiti branch of aid group Mercy Corps, said gangs now control nearly 90% of the capital, leading to a shutdown of the most basic activities such as infrastructure and supplies. necessary products. Hospitals are also on the brink of collapse.
“Even in areas like the upscale Petion-Ville residential area, people are still barricaded in their homes. If the current humanitarian crisis continues to worsen without efforts to resolve it, Port-au-Prince will soon be buried,” he said.
Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)
