(Adnkronos) – Almost six million people in Haiti, including over 2.2 million children, face critical levels of food insecurity. This situation is expected to worsen by mid-2027, when the number of affected people could reach 6.35 million, an increase of about 400,000 compared to today. This is the alarm raised by Save the Children, the organization that has been fighting for over 100 years to save children at risk and ensure their future, based on new data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Partnership, the main international reference body for assessing food insecurity.
With a population of almost 12 million inhabitants, Haiti remains particularly exposed to the effects of El Niño. Agriculture’s strong dependence on rainfall makes the country vulnerable to reduced rainfall and above-average temperatures, factors that are already compromising agricultural production and risk heavily impacting future harvests, Save the Children highlights in a statement.
“Almost one in two children in Haiti suffers from severe food insecurity. The growing presence of armed groups is destroying livelihoods and compromising agricultural activities, while rising food and fuel prices, cuts in humanitarian aid, and extreme weather events associated with El Niño are pushing an increasing number of families into increasingly critical conditions – said Chantal Sylvie Imbeault, Save the Children’s director in Haiti – Violence is hindering humanitarian interventions, preventing many organizations from reaching people most in need of assistance. In a context of insufficient funding and rising operational costs due to oil prices, the available humanitarian support risks not meeting the needs of the population.” “Without immediate access to life-saving aid, there is a danger of losing an entire generation due to avoidable suffering and deaths – she concluded – We once again call for unimpeded access for humanitarian workers and for resources and funding to be urgently mobilized to save lives.”
