Haiti: Crisis Impacts All Areas, WFP

On Friday, WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau said that the violence in Haiti is causing a crisis with political, humanitarian and security dimensions that impacts all areas.

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Consequences such as displacement, disruptions in trade and the economy keep the country in the worst humanitarian situation since the 2010 earthquake, added the World Food Program (WFP) representative in statements to the press.

As a result, nearly five million people are acutely food insecure in category three, four or five of the UN-estimated index, with a maximum of five.

Following a recent visit to the Caribbean nation, Skau deemed it necessary to strengthen resilience and development support both within Port-au-Prince and elsewhere to try to break the vicious cycle.

"There will be no success on the political side unless we also step up our assistance to the people," the WFP deputy director said. He confirmed that the U.N. agency has barely enough supplies for the next six weeks amid serious concerns about scarce funding to address the crisis and the lack of land, sea and air access to Haiti.

"We are trying to do as much local procurement as possible, but I think those sources are also starting to dry up," he warned.

Alternatively, the Program would need to replenish its supplies with shipments through the international airport, also affected by the actions of the organized gangs that control 80 percent of the Haitian capital.

According to the official, each month, WFP provides food aid to 500,000 Haitians, but the needs exceed the current operational capacity.

An emergency response is needed in Port-au-Prince, and to be able to continue providing other types of support, including development support in the rest of the country, Skau said.