Food insecurity in Haiti continues to worsen in a context of gang violence andeconomic collapse, according to a report released Friday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)The study predicts that by mid-2026, nearly 6 million people, or more than half of the population, will be faced with critical hunger levels.
Currently, approximately 5,7 million Haitians are already living in a situation of acute food insecurity, including 1,9 million in emergency situations, suffering from severe food shortages and malnutrition, says the IPC, a UN-backed index. The report estimates that the number of people affected will rise to 5,91 million by next year, of which nearly 2 million in the emergency category, just below the starvation threshold.
The deterioration of the situation is fueled by chronic political instability, the clashes between armed groups et the collapse of purchasing power in a country where food prices have exploded. Insecurity is also hampering the delivery of humanitarian aid, particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where thousands of people have been displaced.
Despite this alarming picture, Martine Villeneuve, director for Haiti of the NGO Action against Hunger, considered it "encouraging" that the country has not yet entered the most extreme phase of famine of the CPI index. She also pointed out that 200,000 people had recently emerged from emergency status thanks to international humanitarian assistance.
However, UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs are calling for an immediate increase in food aid and a return to political stability, considered as essential conditions to avoid that the humanitarian crisis in Haiti does not become uncontrollable.
