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With over 5.7 million people forced into food insecurity due to ongoing gang violence and economic collapse, more than half of Haiti’s population is now predicted to experience severe hunger until June, according to a recent report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
A highly concerning rise of over 300,000 people over the previous year was recorded by the multi-partner U.N. mission that monitors worldwide hunger and malnutrition. This increase was driven by declining foreign support, economic instability, and deteriorating security. Among the most at risk are the 8,400 people stranded in temporary camps, many of whom are already going hungry.
Families on the Edge
For Jackie Jean-Jacques, 52, and his family, survival has become a daily battle. Displaced by gang attacks, he, his wife, and their three sons have lived in a crowded shelter for more than a year, as reported by AP.
“There are days where the kids have to live on sugar water and bread,” Jean-Jacques said. “It hurts me to see that.”
Once a bus driver, Jean-Jacques lost his livelihood as gangs tightened control over Port-au-Prince’s roads and fuel prices skyrocketed. Now, his wife sells small street items like plastic cups and lunch boxes to make ends meet. “This is not enough to feed us,” he added.
A Crisis Worsened by Aid Cuts
While humanitarian food and water distribution were once regular, aid has sharply declined since March 2025. A report confirmed that following the termination of 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts by the Trump administration in February, humanitarian resources have dried up.
Between August 2024 and February 2025, nearly 977,000 Haitians received food aid monthly, though rations have since been halved. “The assistance you get is not enough,” Jean-Jacques lamented.
UNICEF warns that 2.85 million Haitian children — a quarter of the country’s child population — now face dangerously high levels of food insecurity. The agency has treated just 4,600 severely malnourished children this year, a fraction of the estimated 129,000 in urgent need.
The World Food Program (WFP) also voiced alarm, stating it requires $53.7 million over the next six months to sustain its life-saving operations in Haiti. “Right now, we’re fighting to just hold the line on hunger,” said Wanja Kaaria, WFP’s country director in Haiti.
Women and Children Hit Hardest
The crisis has disproportionately impacted women and girls. Jean Rose-Bertha, a 40-year-old single mother of two, has spent nearly a year in a makeshift shelter after gangs forced her family out of their home.
“I can barely feed them,” she said. “I sometimes do things I’m not supposed to do,” referring to occasional sex work for survival.
Martin Dickler, Haiti director for nonprofit CARE, emphasized how women are particularly vulnerable in food crises. “They are left to manage the daily family survival. In crises, women often eat least and last,” he explained.
From Crisis to Catastrophe
Back in 2014, only 2% of Haiti’s population faced food insecurity, with most people still reaping the benefits of successful harvests and relative stability. But after Hurricane Matthew struck in 2016, destroying crops and livelihoods, hunger steadily grew. By 2018, over 386,000 Haitians were severely food insecure — a figure that has since exploded to 5.7 million.
“This is very alarming,” said Dickler. “It really is an extremely serious food crisis, and Haiti is now one of the worst in the world.”
Adding to the hardship, inflation has soared above 30%, while armed gangs control most of the country’s critical roadways, cutting off supply routes and driving up the prices of basic goods.
Hunger in Haiti has reached catastrophic levels as without immediate action, thousands, many of them children, will die.
(Inputs from AP)
