The World Food Programme (WFP) released an update on Friday detailing the ongoing food security challenges in Haiti. The WFP has been collaborating with the Haitian government and other partners to provide essential assistance to 2.7 million individuals. Their support includes emergency food aid, school meal programs, social protection initiatives, and aid for smallholder farmers.
Wanja Kaaria, WFP Haiti Country Director, cautioned against complacency despite minor improvements in food security figures. She stated, “Elevated fuel prices and the resulting rise in food costs risk rolling back these gains, pushing already vulnerable families deeper into crisis and further destabilising the situation.”
Haiti has faced a worsening food security crisis for nearly a decade, exacerbated by violence linked to armed groups, political instability, economic hardship, and a high susceptibility to extreme weather events, such as Hurricane Melissa in late 2025.
The WFP is urging for substantial measures and funding to deliver emergency relief and implement long-term solutions to combat food insecurity, which affects over half of the Haitian population. “Tackling hunger is vital to restoring stability in Haiti,” Ms. Kaaria emphasized. “We cannot build peace when families have nothing to feed their children.”
The WFP requires $332 million to sustain its operations over the next 12 months, aiming to assist over 2.7 million people with critical emergency and resilience-building support. The Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti, valued at $880 million, is currently less than 20 percent funded, having received only $172 million.
Violence and Displacement Grip Haiti
Recent armed attacks have forced hundreds of people to flee the South-East department. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that violence on April 13 in Marigot displaced over 1,300 individuals. This marks the first recorded large-scale displacement directly attributed to armed attacks in the South-East department, an area that had previously housed those displaced from other regions.
Currently, over 1.4 million people have been displaced across Haiti due to conflict. Approximately 300,000 individuals are living in overcrowded and unsanitary temporary shelters within the capital, Port-au-Prince.
