Over half of Haiti faces acute food insecurity amid gang violence

Haiti's food insecurity is projected to worsen by mid-2026, with nearly 6 million people facing critical hunger levels. Gang violence and economic collapse have displaced families, disrupted agriculture, and eroded livelihoods, leaving over half the population reliant on aid.

Currently, over half the population, approximately 5.7 million individuals, are experiencing high levels of food insecurity, including 1.9 million at emergency levels marked by acute shortages and severe malnutrition.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed index measuring hunger and malnutrition in global hotspots, attributes this worsening situation to six consecutive years of economic recession and escalating gang violence. 

In areas controlled by armed groups, farmers face extortion, and small businesses are forced to shut down. The absence of the IPC's most extreme phase of famine is seen as "encouraging," but experts warn that progress is fragile and unsustainable without long-term investment to tackle the root causes of food insecurity.

Haiti remains among the five worst food-security crises globally, with more than half of its population relying on assistance. 

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