Emergency Haitian Aid Program
PORT-AU-PRINCE Apr 18/16 - SNS -- An emergency food aid program hoping to feed one million Haitians will be launched by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).
Prolonged drought caused by the El Nino weather event has left a third of Haiti's population or 3.6 million people facing food insecurity. This includes more than 1.5 million who are severely food insecure and do not know where their next meal is coming from, according to an assessment by WFP and the National Coordination for Food Security.
The assessment found that the main 2015 spring harvest was below average, with almost three-quarters of farmers reporting they had lost more than 82% of production. For the 2016 spring season, 65% of families said they could not plant due to a lack of agricultural inputs. A scarcity of locally produced food has led to price hikes of up to 60%.
WFP initially responded with food distributions in Haiti for a two-month period to 120,000 people. With the new emergency operation this week, WFP will assist the 1 million people as Haiti enters the lean season from March to June when food stocks from the previous year run out.
Some 700,000 people in Haiti will receive cash transfers, which will provide the poorest and most vulnerable with the ability to purchase food while at the same time strengthening local economies. Another 300,000 people will be given a mix of cash transfers and food.
In a second phase, 200,000 people will receive food to work on watershed management and soil conservation projects, creating assets to help communities to plant small vegetable gardens. WFP plans to assist pregnant and breast feeding women and young children with a specialized blended cereal fortified with vitamins and minerals to prevent malnutrition.
While addressing the drought, WFP also aims to maintain the level of assistance to a school meals program that today represents the country's largest food-based safety net. WFP school meals support government efforts to establish a Haitian-owned program by 2030.
In coordination with the National School Meals Program, WFP delivers daily hot meals to 485,000 school children in over 1,700 schools in nine of Haiti's 10 departments until the end of April. Unless new donations are received, the program will only reach 320,000 children as of May.
However, WFP cannot perform any of this work in Haiti without additional contributions. WFP needs US$72 million for its drought-relief emergency operation from April to September as well as US$7 million to maintain the level of school meals until the end of the next school year. So far, the United States and European Union have pledged contributions.
In the past, the United States has shipped significant quantities of lentils, green peas, and pinto beans under its PL-480 food aid program.
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