Half of Haitians facing hunger as violence persists

New report says 5.41 million people are experiencing ‘high levels of acute food insecurity’, with gang wars and inflation the chief drivers of the crisis.

Almost 48 percent of people in Haiti are experiencing acute food shortages amid ongoing armed gang violence, a new report says.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said in the report released on Monday that 5.41 million people in the beleaguered Caribbean nation were facing “high levels of acute food insecurity” between August 2024 and February 2025.

Of the overall total, 6,000 people are “experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger”, the world-hunger watchdog warned.

“Haiti continues to face a worsening humanitarian crisis, with alarming rates of armed gang violence disrupting daily life, forcing more people to flee their homes and levels of acute food insecurity to rise,” the report reads.

Haiti was already reeling from years of unrest when powerful armed groups – often with ties to the country’s political and business leaders – launched attacks on prisons and other state institutions across the capital, Port-au-Prince, in February.

Despite international efforts to soothe the situation, and the appointment of a new government, the rule of law remains scarce and the violence persists.

At least 3,661 people were killed in Haiti in the first half of this year amid the “senseless” gang violence that has engulfed the country, the United Nations said on Monday.

Violence in Port-au-Prince and its surrounding areas is creating “serious difficulties in supplying basic foodstuffs to the regions, limiting households’ physical and financial access to food”, the IPC warned.

The difficulties have led to high inflation, which is identified as another contributing factor. Food now consumes up to 70 percent of household expenses, the report said.

People displaced by gang war violence live inside a classroom at Darius Denis school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti [Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters]

The residual effects of “climate shocks” such as Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and the 2021 earthquake were also exacerbating the hunger crisis, the IPC said.

Ongoing security challenges

Gangs now control about 80 percent of Port-au-Prince, along with key roads leading to northern and southern Haiti, severely disrupting the delivery of goods and humanitarian aid.

At least 1,379 people were reported killed or injured between April and June. Over the past few years, gang activity has left more than 700,000 people homeless.

A UN-backed mission led by Kenya, which began in late June, has managed to liberate some communities from gang control.

However, officials warn that significant challenges remain.

“The situation is not expected to improve during the projected period (March to June 2025) as humanitarian food assistance is not expected to meet the needs of the population,” the IPC sums up. “After relative stability in the second quarter of 2024, violence increased sharply in the third quarter. This trend will likely continue, affecting the supply chain and intensifying population displacement.”

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Al Jazeera and news agencies