By: Staff Writer
May 20, 2025
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns that the escalating violence in Haiti has increased the already dire food security challenge in the embattled country.
The report, The Global Report on Food Crisis, 2025, notes that as a result of the earthquakes that hit Haiti in 2010 and again in 2018 and 2021, coupled with the assassination of its president Jovenel Moïse in July, 2021 and the ensuing COVID-19 pandemic has left the country on the brink of starvation.
The report also said: “Haiti’s acute food insecurity during the latter half of 2024 reflects the confluence of multiple crises. Nearly 48 percent of the country’s population, or 5.4 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity, with around 2 million in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and nearly 5,600 in displacement sites in Catastrophe.
“While insecurity and violence are key drivers of the crisis, particularly in the MAPAP ( Métropole d’Port-au-Prince )and in regions like Artibonite, structural weaknesses in the agricultural sector and climate shocks are key drivers in rural areas, where 75 percent of those facing high levels of acute food insecurity live.”
The report also said: “Escalating violence, further weather extremes, political unrest and the depletion of household food stocks are likely to drive further deterioration during March–June 2025.
“About 51 percent of the analysed population or 5.7 million people are projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity. Of them, around 2.1 million will be in IPC Phase 4, and about 8 400 living in camps in Catastrophe.
Additionally, humanitarian food assistance is not expected to meet the needs of the population.”
The report added: “Women and girls are disproportionately affected by the food crisis in Haiti.
“Data from the National Food and Nutrition Security Survey reveals significant gender differences in food consumption scores, with women-headed households consistently exhibiting poorer scores than those headed by men. This is largely due to their reliance on informal and unstable income sources and their heightened exposure to security risks.
“Women of reproductive age often prioritize their children’s needs over their own, exacerbating their nutritional vulnerabilities.”