Two girls leap over a stream filled with trash in Port-au-Prince, Haiti October 13, 2022. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo
GENEVA — Haiti is facing a humanitarian catastrophe as it struggles with malnutrition, gang violence, inflation, and a cholera outbreak, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
“Haiti is facing a humanitarian catastrophe,” Jean-Martin Bauer, the WFP’s country director in Haiti, told reporters, adding that the situation there is “close to breaking point.”
“The situation is concerning, this is a catastrophe and we need to respond to it immediately,” he added.
Haitian gangs have for a month prevented the distribution of diesel and gasoline, crippling businesses and hospitals, and creating shortages of basic goods, including water, just as the country is struggling with a new outbreak of cholera.
Another UN official added that 100,000 children in Haiti under the age of 5 were suffering from severe malnourishment, adding: “They are especially vulnerable to this cholera outbreak.”