"4.7 million people in Haiti are facing acute hunger"
A record 4.7 million people in Haiti are facing acute hunger, including 19,000 in catastrophic famine conditions for the first time
All in a slum controlled by gangs in the capital, according to a report released Friday.
The U.N. World Food Program and Food and Agriculture Organization said unrelenting crises have trapped Haitians
In a cycle of growing desperation, without access to food, fuel, markets, jobs and public services, bringing the country to a standstill.”
The Cite Soleil district of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where violence has increased as armed gangs vye for control, is facing the most urgent need of humanitarian assistance, they said.
The report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, which is a global partnership of 15 U.N. agencies and international humanitarian groups
Paints a grim picture of escalating hunger in Latin the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country,
According to the analysis, a record 4.7 million Haitians are in the three worst categories — 2.9 million in “crisis” Phase 3 characterized by gaps in food consumption and acute malnutrition
1.8 million in “emergency” Phase 4 in which there are large gaps in food consumption, very high acute malnutrition and excess deaths, and 19,000 in “famine” Phase 5.
The Food and Agriculture Organization’s representative in Haiti, Jose Luis Fernandez Filgueiras, said
“We need to help Haitians produce better, more nutritious food to safeguard their livelihoods and their futures.”