Port-au-Prince

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United Nations agency World Food Programme (WFP), responsible for providing emergency food assistance to the crisis-stricken country of Haiti has said it will be unable to provide its full service this month. WFP said it has been forced to cut the number of people receiving the aid by 25 per cent in July, meaning at least 100,000 vulnerable Haitians will be without WFP support. 

According to a report released by the body, six months into the year, WFP's response plan in the Caribbean nation is only 16 per cent funded with the organisation requiring $121 million till the end of 2023 to make good on its promises. If the funding remains low, WFP warned it will be unable to assist 750,000 of the 2.3 million Haitians it had aimed to reach. 

“It’s tragic being unable to reach some of the most vulnerable Haitians this month. This could not come at a worse time, as Haitians face a multilayered humanitarian crisis, their lives and livelihoods upended by violence, insecurity, economic turmoil and climate shocks. Unless we receive immediate funding, further devastating cuts cannot be ruled out,” said the WFP’s country director for Haiti, Jean-Martin Bauer.

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Surging food inflation has raised the cost of feeding each person substantially, making the already-tough task, even more difficult for WFP. The programme's donors have cut funding, exacerbating the problem. 

Gang violence escalates problem 

Last year in July, the capital city of Port-au-Prince had plunged into a similar food crisis after brutal gang violence escalated in the region. In October, “catastrophic” level-five hunger conditions were reported in the city slums, usually associated with war-torn nations. 

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The collapse of the Haitian state, and the rapid expansion of the gangs that control most of Port-au-Prince and are driving up poverty, show no signs of being resolved any time soon.

Also read | Over 234 dead, thousands trapped without food, water or fuel; Haiti descends into chaos and anarchy

Food insecurity 

According to a report released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in May, it was revealed that 2022 was the fourth consecutive year in which the number of people facing food crises increased rapidly. 

Almost 258 million people across 58 countries, or 22.7 per cent of the analysed population, faced severe hunger last year due to conflicts, climate change and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. 

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According to the report, the top 10 hungriest countries in the world are -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Yemen, Myanmar, the Syrian Arab Republic, Sudan, Ukraine and Pakistan. 

"More than half of the 376,400 people in the catastrophe were in Somalia (214,100), but these extreme conditions also affected populations in South Sudan (87,000), Yemen (31,000), Afghanistan (20,300), Haiti for the first time in GRFC history (19,200), Nigeria (3,000) and Burkina Faso (1,800)," added the report. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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