WASHINGTON, DC — CONCERNS continue to mount in Haiti as women and children remain among the most heavily impacted by the ongoing violence and instability.
The World Food Programme (WFP) warned that “women, children and displaced families are hardest hit by Haiti’s prolonged crisis, which is driving rising hunger and malnutrition.”
Since armed gangs seized control of major areas across the country, Haiti has been plunged deeper into instability, violence, and widespread insecurity. The nation—already the poorest in Latin America and the Caribbean—has been gripped by worsening hunger, economic collapse, and what the United Nations describes as one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
According to the WFP, “the number of food-insecure people has more than tripled since 2016. A total 5.7 million Haitians – half the population – do not have enough to eat. Over 2 million of these are facing emergency levels of food insecurity.”
The report further noted that the number of internally displaced people has surged to 1.3 million—more than triple the figure from August 2023—following intense clashes between armed groups.
Additionally, nearly 277,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition, with 125,000 classified as severely malnourished.
“Three in four people sheltering in schools and public buildings face Crisis or Emergency levels of hunger,” the WFP report stated. “Overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, coupled with limited access to nutritious food, are putting babies and young children at heightened risk of malnutrition.”
Despite the grim picture, the agency said regular food assistance efforts have helped reduce the number of Haitians facing Emergency-level food insecurity by approximately 200,000 since April 2025.
Still, the situation remains dire. The WFP reported that consumer prices for key food items are between 30 and 77 percent higher than the average across Latin America and the Caribbean. Meanwhile, many farmers are unable to sell their produce due to road blockages cutting off access between the metropolitan areas and rural regions.
The agency said it urgently requires more than US$139 million over the next 12 months to reach Haiti’s most vulnerable families.
