“Tragically”, this 25% reduction compared to the previous month means that 100,000 Haitians will be deprived of WFP aid in July, the UN organization said in a press release.
Due to lack of sufficient funding, the World Food Program (WFP) announced on Monday that it had reduced its food aid by 25% in July in Haiti, where nearly half of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance.
At “the current level of funding for the calendar year, WFP does not have the resources to provide food assistance to a total of 750,000 people in urgent need”, he added.
During the first semester, the WFP provided food aid or cash to 1.5 million people in the country. This aid includes 450,000 hot meals for schoolchildren, a number which could be reduced by almost half after the summer holidays.
Halfway through the year, WFP’s response plan for the impoverished Caribbean country ravaged by gang violence is only 16% funded, according to the press release, which calls for emergency funding of 121 million dollars by the end of 2023.
huge needs
“These budget cuts could not come at a worse time, as Haitians face a multi-level humanitarian crisis, with their lives and livelihoods disrupted by violence, insecurity, economic upheaval and climatic shocks. “, commented Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP National Director for Haiti.
“If we don’t receive immediate funding, further devastating cuts cannot be ruled out,” he warned.
“It’s heartbreaking, Haiti is a country that has already suffered so much and been so forgotten despite being so close to so much wealth,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary General of the UN.
According to the UN, nearly half of the Haitian population, or 5.2 million people, needs humanitarian assistance, including nearly 3 million children. A situation aggravated by the political crisis and the growing violence of gangs that terrorize the population.
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Source: BFM TV
