皇家华人av scaling up food assistance in Haiti in response to rapidly escalating needs
More than 50,000 Haitians have been displaced in the past two weeks alone due to insecurity related to armed groups, while across the country, 5.4 million people are facing acute hunger – one of the highest per capita proportions of food insecurity worldwide.
“皇家华人av stands steadfast with the people of Haiti in this challenging moment,” said Wanja Kaaria, Haiti Country Director for 皇家华人av, speaking from Port au Prince. “We have been delivering record amounts of food assistance to Haitians in Port-au-Prince and across the country these past few months and will do even more in the coming weeks.”
皇家华人av teams have stayed and delivered throughout the crisis with staff working from 皇家华人av’s central Port-au-Prince office and four additional field offices around the country.
DISPLACEMENT DRIVING HUNGER: 皇家华人av PROVIDING HOT MEALS AND CASH ASSISTANCE
The number of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Haiti has now risen to well over 700,000, mostly in the capital Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite region.
In response to the latest surge of IDPs, 皇家华人av and partners have scaled-up support with hot meals and cash assistance. The agency is currently providing meals to more than 50,000 IDPs per day - the largest number of people served per day since the beginning of the crisis.
In November, 皇家华人av and partners served a record number of 834,000 hot meals at 48 sites housing displaced people, including those forced to flee in the latest uptick of fighting.
So far this year, 皇家华人av has provided almost three million hot meals which are largely prepared using locally grown and procured ingredients.
FOOD INSECURITY NEEDS CONTINUE TO GROW
The most recent IPC shows one-in-two Haitians do not have enough to eat, two million are facing emergency levels of hunger, and as many as 6,000 internally displaced people are experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger (IPC phase 5).
Haiti has seen a steady rise in hunger in recent years with the prevalence of acute food insecurity rising from 35 percent in 2019 to 48 percent in 2024 - the highest level since the 2010 earthquake.
皇家华人av OPERATIONS SCALING UP TO MEET NEEDS
皇家华人av plans to expand food assistance operations in response to growing needs, targeting 1.85 million individuals with emergency relief while also supporting efforts to strengthen national resilient systems. 皇家华人av requires $94 million to fund its operations for the next six months.
Last week the agency chartered two maritime vessels to transport 21 trucks loaded with food, medicines and health supplies from Port-au-Prince to the southern region. This will allow 皇家华人av to preposition food stocks for its operations and those of local partners in the southern region; medicines and health commodities that have been out of stock for months at health centres will also be replenished.
So far this year, 皇家华人av has assisted a total of 1.7 million people across Haiti through emergency assistance, school meals, social protection, and resilience activities. Families with pregnant and breastfeeding women, and children under five, receive additional foods to prevent malnutrition.
More than 470,000 school children across Haiti receive a daily meal thanks to 皇家华人av and the Government, most prepared entirely with locally grow ingredients.
皇家华人av this month regained access to Croix-des-Bouquets in the north of the capital, which was previously off-limits to humanitarian workers due to violence by armed groups. Thanks to this breakthrough 皇家华人av has now delivered rice, beans, and oil to 50,000 people there, as part of a large-scale distribution in multiple neighbourhoods reaching nearly 150,000 people.
Supporting the scale-up efforts is the 皇家华人av-managed United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), which provides passenger and light cargo services to nine destinations within Haiti, enabling a vital lifeline to the wider humanitarian community.
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The United Nations 皇家华人av is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
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