The United Nations World Food Program announced Monday that it is facing a shortage of funds and will not be able to help 100,000 people in Haiti this month who urgently need help.
The 25% cut comes despite the fact that a record 4.9 million people in the country of nearly 11 million need help finding food, the agency said.
“These cuts could not come at a worse time, when Haitians face a multi-layered humanitarian crisis, and their lives and livelihoods are upended by violence, insecurity, the economic crisis and climate shocks,” said Jean-Martin Bauer. , agency director for Haiti.
The agency warned that its response plan for Haiti is only 16% funded and that it will not be able to provide food to a total of 750,000 Haitians if it does not raise $121 million between now and the end of the year.
“Unless we receive immediate funding, further devastating cuts cannot be ruled out,” Bauer said.
So far this year, the World Food Program has provided hot meals to more than 450,000 school children, often the only food they receive for an entire day.
On a per capita basis, the number of Haitians facing emergency-level food insecurity is the second highest in the world, with nearly 5 million people struggling to eat every day, according to the agency. More than 115,000 children under the age of 5 are also expected to deal with malnutrition this year, an increase of 30% compared to last year.
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