Some 3.6 million Haitians or 700,000 families are affected by food insecurity, including 1.5 million who are in a serious situation, according to a report from the Government.
The study, carried out every year by the National Food Security Coordinator (CNSA), noted that the most vulnerable households are using negative survival strategies.
Over the past three years, a severe drought has affected Haiti, thus damaging crops that represent more than 60 percent of the country’s annual production, so the prospects for households to recover from this crisis are limited, the report added.
In that scenario, small producers are more vulnerable than ever to food insecurity, the CNSA pointed out.
Last February, the Haitian Government and the European Union (EU) launched a Food and Nutritional Security program in the northwestern region, Artibonite and Grande-Anse.
The initiative aims to improve those indicators in the most vulnerable populations in a sustainable manner, and strengthen their resilience and capacities to counter and overcome the crises.
The program is based on a multi-sectorial approach that integrates local production to increase the availability of food and their nutritional content.
It also reinforces the availability and access to food and stable supplies through appropriate social policies.
At present, nearly 30 percent of the rural population in Haiti is affected by food insecurity, and some 275,000 children, or 22 percent of the child population, are chronically undernourished, as a result of which they suffer from growth retardation, experts said.
