With the rise in violence that hit the Haitian capital on February 29, the country is facing a growing humanitarian crisis. Clashes between gangs and law enforcement forced thousands of families to flee their homes, ending up in temporary shelters in Port-au-Prince.
In these centers, displaced families struggle to obtain food distributed by the World Food Program. They depend almost entirely on this food aid, as well as on Haitian government institutions, to feed themselves.
Pervasive violence has deeply affected the country’s fragile economy, making access to food difficult for the most vulnerable. According to the director of the World Food Program in Haiti, Jean Martin Bauer, more than 4 million people suffer from food insecurity, including 1.4 million at risk of starvation.
Shanthalia Trasibille, a street vendor looking for shelter since last November following a gang attack, describes the daily difficulties: “Sometimes we go days without eating. We feed ourselves when we find food. I I have nothing – just my body and my soul.”
Despite the growing danger and distribution difficulties, volunteers mobilize from the early hours of the morning to prepare nearly 14,000 meals intended for shelters and schools in the Haitian capital.
The escalation of violence led to the displacement of an additional 15,000 people during the first weekend of March, bringing the total number of displaced people to 360,000 in Haiti. The UN expresses concerns that the closure of the port and airport could further disrupt supplies.
Although the intensity of violence appears to have decreased in recent days, 80% of the capital’s territory remains under the control of gangs. The fire that occurred Thursday at the national penitentiary, previously attacked by gangs, has not yet revealed its causes or consequences.
This critical situation underlines the urgency of humanitarian and security action to help the most vulnerable Haitian populations, trapped by incessant violence and growing food insecurity.