Protests

Hunger in Haiti: Ten Years After the Earthquake, a New Disaster Looms

  • Posted on: 14 January 2020
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

Ten years after the earthquake, and despite billions of dollars in assistance, hunger is a growing problem in Haiti.  Food insecurity has been made worse by political instability and its root cause, corruption.  Up to four million people are now facing severe hunger due to the downturn of an already weak economy and inflation.  Hunger undermines nutrition, health, education, and stability, and economic development or, in other words, the future.  Humanitarian responders like the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) can provide food to the most vulnerable - but they can't fix the underlying problems.  This depends upon the Haitian people having an accountable, effective government that represents the interests of the many instead of the few.  An article by Jassica Obert in The New Humanitarian about food insecurity in Haiti follows.