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United Nations

Escalating Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti: World Food Programme Warns of Disproportionate Impact on Women and Children

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The humanitarian crisis in Haiti continues to worsen, with the World Food Programme (WFP) warning that women, children, and displaced families are being disproportionately affected. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis reveals a record number of people in Haiti are experiencing acute levels of hunger, with 5.7 million facing severe hunger. This comes as child malnutrition has doubled in just two years, with 14% of children under five now malnourished.

Key Takeaways:

  • The WFP has reached a record 2.2 million Haitians, but this is not enough, and the agency urgently needs resources to support families in dire need.
  • Over the next 12 months, the WFP requires $139 million to assist Haiti's most vulnerable people as the crisis remains severely underfunded.
  • WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain stated that "half of Haiti is going hungry", while 5.7 million people are facing severe hunger.
  • Child malnutrition has doubled in just two years, with 14% of children under five now malnourished, up from 7%.
  • Armed violence, economic decline, persistent inflation, and poor agricultural output are fueling Haiti's deepening crisis.
  • The UN agency highlighted that hospitals, shelters, and places of refuge must not be targeted in the conflict.
  • Maldives has become the first country to stop mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B, a landmark public health achievement.
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed the development as proof of the country's commitment to providing healthcare for all.

Statistics:

  • 5.7 million people in Haiti are facing severe hunger (WFP)
  • 2.2 million Haitians have been reached by the WFP (WFP)
  • $139 million needed to assist Haiti's most vulnerable people over the next 12 months (WFP)
  • 14% of children under five in Haiti are malnourished (WFP)
  • Child malnutrition has doubled in just two years in Haiti (WFP)
  • 8,000 infants were born with congenital syphilis in southeast Asia in 2024 (WHO)
  • 25,000 HIV-positive pregnant women required treatment to prevent transmission to their babies in southeast Asia in 2024 (WHO)
  • 42 million people are affected by hepatitis B in southeast Asia (WHO)

Sources:

  • WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain's tweet: @WFP (http://www1.wfp.org/)
  • World Food Programme: (http://www1.wfp.org/)
  • United Nations News: MIL OSI United Nations News (http://milnz.co.nz/mil-osi-aggregation/)
  • World Health Organization: (http://www.who.int/en/)
  • WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus's statement: (http://www.who.int/en/)

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