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Info Service on UN Sustainable Development (Apr25/05) Penang, 18 Apr (Kanaga Raja) — Despite its expanded emergency response in Haiti, an escalation in violence, displacement, economic turmoil and disruptions to local food production are fueling hunger, leaving millions at risk, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on 17 April. In a news release, WFP noted that the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report shows a record 5.7 million people – more than half of all Haitians – are projected to experience acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3+) through June 2025. Of those, just over two million are projected to face Emergency level hunger (IPC phase 4), while about 8,400 people are expected to face Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5), the most critical level of food insecurity where people experience an extreme lack of food, severe acute malnutrition and risk of starvation. Growing armed violence has driven massive displacement and increased hunger as armed groups seek to expand their control, forcing over one million people from their homes, said the UN agency. In Port-au-Prince, displaced families are sheltering in schools and public buildings, enduring overcrowded and unsanitary conditions with limited access to clean water, food and healthcare, it added. WFP and its partners have significantly scaled up operations in Haiti, reaching more than 1.3 million people to date in 2025, including one million people in March – a record number of people assisted in a month – but more is urgently needed, according to the news release. “Right now, we’re fighting to just hold the line on hunger,” said Wanja Kaaria, WFP Country Director in Haiti. “Without the immense efforts already underway, the situation would be far worse. To keep pace with the growing crisis, we call on the international community to provide urgent support – and above all, the country needs peace,” Kaaria added. WFP is providing first-line emergency assistance as well as long-term support to those internally displaced. So far in 2025, WFP has supplied 740,000 hot meals to more than 112,000 recently displaced people, as well as cash for food and support to prevent malnutrition among children. WFP said it has also secured unprecedented access to areas controlled by armed groups, delivering lifesaving food to hard-to-reach communities in Croix-des-Bouquets, Cite Soleil, Lower Delmas and La Saline. Meanwhile, the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), managed by WFP, continues to serve as a vital lifeline for the humanitarian response – ensuring aid workers and supplies reach communities in need, said the UN agency. However, WFP said it urgently needs US$53.7 million to continue its life-saving operations in Haiti over the next six months. RISK OF FAMINE Separately, also on 17 April, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that over one million children are facing critical levels of food insecurity in Haiti. Persistent armed violence, repeated displacement, and lack of sufficient humanitarian access continue to threaten vulnerable families – while the risk of famine looms, it added. In a news release, overall, UNICEF said it estimates that 2.85 million children – or one quarter of the entire child population in Haiti – are facing consistently high levels of food insecurity across the country, based on the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) update released this week. Families continue to grapple with significant lack of food and high levels of acute malnutrition, it added. “We are looking at a scenario where parents can no longer provide care and nutrition to their children as a result of ongoing violence, extreme poverty, and a persistent economic crisis,” said Ms Geeta Narayan, the UNICEF Representative in Haiti. “Life-saving actions, such as screening children at risk for wasting and stunting, and ensuring malnourished children have access to therapeutic treatment, are needed now to save children’s lives,” she added. With food insecurity on the rise, the country also faces a growing public health emergency and famine-like conditions affecting an estimated 8,400 people, said UNICEF. It pointed out that health services across the country are under immense pressure, with less than 50 per cent of health facilities in Port-au-Prince being fully operational, and two out of three of the major public hospitals being out of commission. The impact on children is severe, with healthcare and life-saving treatment becoming increasingly inaccessible, putting children at greater risk of various forms of malnutrition and preventable disease, UNICEF warned. In much of the country, armed violence has restricted children’s access to food. With worsening food insecurity and unrest, the crisis has resulted in a nutrition crisis for families, it said. Yet, the UN agency said just as needs intensify, the response is increasingly constrained by funding shortfalls. “UNICEF’s nutrition programme under the Humanitarian Action for Children appeal currently faces a critical 70% funding gap, limiting our ability to reach the most vulnerable.” In 2025 so far, UNICEF and its partners have treated over 4,600 children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM), representing only 3.6% of the 129,000 children projected to need life-saving treatment this year, it noted. Earlier, amid a worsening humanitarian emergency in Haiti, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) urged the international community to step up and support communities uprooted by violence and instability. Concluding a high-level visit to the country this week, IOM Director-General Amy Pope said: “This is one of the most complex and urgent crises in the world, with implications for regional and global stability.” According to an IOM news release, more than 1 million people are now displaced inside of Haiti – triple the number from just a year ago. Gang control over vast areas of Port-au-Prince has forced families to flee repeatedly, leaving them without access to shelter, water, or medical care. At the same time, nearly 200,000 Haitians were deported back from neighbouring countries last year, adding pressure to already overwhelmed local systems, it said. IOM is currently leading efforts across more than 50 displacement sites, including shelter, camp management, protection, and emergency water, sanitation and hygiene services – even in areas affected by violence. Meanwhile, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, relentless gang violence and economic collapse have left one in two Haitians in high levels of acute food insecurity. The IPC analysis said more than half of Haiti’s population – approximately 5.7 million people – are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, driven by relentless gang violence and ongoing economic collapse. It said that the food security situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate. Out of the 5.7 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity, classified in Crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3 or above) – the highest number in recent years – over 8,400 people living in displacement camps are experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe). It said an additional 2.1 million people, representing 19 per cent of the analysed population, are in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency), facing critical food insecurity, while 3.6 million people (32 per cent) are classified in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis). Between August 2024 and February 2025, nearly 977,000 Haitians received humanitarian food assistance on a monthly basis – albeit with rations reduced by between 25 and 50 per cent. According to the IPC analysis, this assistance has been crucial in preventing further deterioration into the most severe phases, particularly among urban and displaced populations with no access to livelihood opportunities due to insecurity. However, since March 2025, funding has no longer been guaranteed, the IPC analysis pointed out. “Haiti’s economy is characterised by extreme poverty, high levels of informal employment, and vulnerability to natural disasters. Political instability and violence further hamper development.” It remains the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with a significant portion of the population living below the poverty line and relying on subsistence farming, the IPC analysis said. (See SUNS #10204 dated 18 April 2025). +
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