One in two Haitians struggle to feed themselves, alarms the UN

According to the World Bank, Haiti is one of the 10 countries most affected by food price inflation.

Nearly half of Haiti's population, or 4.9 million people, are struggling to feed themselves, the World Food Program (WFP) warned on Thursday, noting that this number had tripled since 2016.

We cannot wait to intervene until the scale of this problem translates into deaths, because that is what will happen, said the director of the WFP for Haiti, Jean -Martin Bauer, quoted in a statement from this Rome-based UN agency.

Soaring inflation makes it impossible to buy basic food items for millions of Haitians, while, according to the World Bank, Haiti is among the 10 countries most affected by soaring food prices .

The situation is aggravated by the presence of gangs, both in urban areas and in the countryside, which prevent residents, especially women, from circulating and ;have access to basic services.

About 530 people have been killed and nearly 280 kidnapped since January by gangs that rage with impunity in Haiti, the UN said on Tuesday, which has requested the deployment of a specialized support force. /p>

This violence is pushing residents to flee their homes. The UN estimates that by mid-March at least 160,000 people were internally displaced in this way and were in a precarious situation.

A quarter of the displaced people live in makeshift camps, with very limited access to basic services such as drinking water and sanitation.

Famine particularly affects children, who become more vulnerable to diseases such as cholera.

To address this crisis, WFP needs US$125 million for the next six month. We desperately need increased funding and a mobilization of political will. The world cannot wait for a major catastrophe before intervening, insisted Mr. Bauer.