WFP / HAITI HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY

In Haiti, where almost half the population is already food insecure, hunger is set to rise amidst increasing inflation, high costs of food and fuel and deteriorating security, warns the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). As criminal groups block roads, WFP continues to provide assistance to vulnerable Haitians and supports the humanitarian community with vital air and sea transport. WFP

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:03:54
• Production Date: 12 July 2022
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME - WFP
• Subject Topical: FOOD SECURITY
• Geographic Subject: HAITI
• MAMS Id: 2904402
• Parent Id: 2904402
• Alternate Title: unifeed220712b

Description

STORY: WFP / HAITI HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY
TRT: 3:54
SOURCE: WFP
RESTRICTION: PLEASE CREDIT WFP FOOTAGE ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2021, APRIL – JULY 2022

Shotlist

21 JUNE 2022, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

1. Aerial view, Por-au Prince

06 MAY 2022, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

2. Wide shot, residents who refuse to leave their homes hold a peaceful demonstration, demanding peace and security against gang violence.

27-28 APRIL 2022, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

3. Wide shot, armed police enforce checkpoints around conflict zones as gunshots ring out in an area known to be a gang base

FILE – 21 NOVEMBER 2021, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

4.Various shots, burning tires in the street, armed police and people on the move with their belongings

FILE – 16 DECEMBER 2021, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

5.Wide shot, people gathering at gas stations with jerry cans. Fuel shortages caused by criminal gangs cutting off main access routes to Port au Prince are now being compounded by the global rise in fuel prices as a result of the Ukraine crisis.

21 JUNE 2022, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

6.Various shots, closed gas station with armed guard. This station ran out of fuel on June 13th and has not been able to restock due to a fuel shortage in the country.

02 MAY 2022, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

7. Various shots, displaced people on the move with their belongings. Since June 2021 over 36,000 people in Port-au-Prince have been forced to leave their homes to escape gang violence.

14 JUNE 2022, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

8. Various shots, people living in a school that has been converted into a temporary shelter for displaced people in Tabarre, a neighbourhood affected by organized crime in Port-au-Prince.
9. Various shots, Christina Calixte with her newborn child. She was forced to flee her home while pregnant in early June 2022 and has since been living in the Tabarre Town hall.
10. SOUNDBITE (Creole) Christina Calixte, Mother displaced by conflict:
“I was pregnant, it was Sunday morning, around 5am. I heard gunshots, many gunshots. I was scared I would be hit by a bullet so I lay down under the bed, even though I was pregnant. That Sunday they spent the whole day shooting. I was hungry and I couldn’t go out, I couldn’t even buy water to drink.”
11. Various shots, Christina Calixte receiving a WFP hot meal at the Tabarre Town Hall and eating. Since Mid-May, WFP has assisted people displaced by gang violence with 44,000 hot meals. Additional emergency cash assistance for 4,500 people affected by gang violence began in July.

22 JUNE 2022, COTEAUX, HAITI

12. Wide shot, children being tested for malnutrition with Mid Upper Arm Circumference test (MUACS). Recent assessments found child malnutrition rates to be as high as 20 per cent in some of the most affected areas of Port-au-Prince

08 JULY 2022, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP Country Director Haiti:
“First of all the gangs and their impact on markets trade and livelihoods have caused an increase in food insecurity. Higher international food prices are also contributing to the food crisis herein this country. To respond WFP has launched a maritime service, we have a ferry taking assistance from here to the rest of the country. We also have an air service, a helicopter shipping aid from here to all parts of Haiti.”

07 MAY 2022, SANT MARC, HAITI

14. Various shots, WFP chartered vessel Linda D. transporting food and offloading in San Marc. provides cargo services to the humanitarian community since gang violence cut off roads from the capital to the north and south of the country.

06 JULY 2022, HAITIEN / COTEAUX, HAITI

15. Various shots, United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) helicopter transporting food between Coteaux and Cap Haitien in the north of the country. As criminal groups block roads, UNHAS is the fastest lifeline to transport humanitarian passengers and supplies across the country but is critically underfunded.

Storyline

In Haiti, where almost half the population is already food insecure, hunger is set to rise amidst increasing inflation, high costs of food and fuel and deteriorating security, warns the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). As criminal groups block roads, WFP continues to provide assistance to vulnerable Haitians and supports the humanitarian community with vital air and sea transport.

Insecurity in and around Port-au-Prince has been drastically worsening since early May, disrupting nation-wide supply chains, access to basic services like markets, schools and hospitals and livelihoods of Haitians across the country. The violence is causing a serious protection crisis and making it harder for people to access and afford food.

This comes against the backdrop of the global food crisis where rising costs linked to the conflict in Ukraine are compounding woes. Haiti is already seeing staggering inflation to the tune of 26 percent. The island nation is particularly vulnerable to shocks in the global food and fuel markets as it imports 70 percent of its cereals. On top of these challenges, the ongoing Atlantic Hurricane season is expected to be more active than normal putting at risk lives and livelihoods of vulnerable Haitians.

“Large parts of the population have been cut off from the economic heart of the country. This comes at a time when Haiti is already dealing with the effects of COVID-19, recent natural disasters, high inflation, and rising costs as a ripple effect of the conflict in Ukraine,” said Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP Country Director in Haiti. “We are seeing hunger rise significantly in the capital and south of the country, with Port-au-Prince being the hardest hit.”

The highly volatile security situation is putting at risk critical humanitarian operations that many vulnerable Haitians rely on. The complete blockage of the road leading to the southern peninsula, for a year now, has cut off 3.8 million people living in the southern departments from Port-au-Prince. The exit to the north from the capital has also recently been affected.

WFP is using maritime routes as an alternate to send aid to both the southern and northern parts of the country. The WFP-led, United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) continues to transport frontline workers and light cargo. Over the past year, UNHAS has seen a dramatic increase in demand due to the earthquake response in August last year and the increasingly volatile security situation.

“The only safe option for humanitarians to move is by air, and without adequate funding, UNHAS faces imminent closure by the end of July 2022. Ultimately, this puts not only WFP’s assistance but humanitarian operations across the country at risk,” Bauer said.

Despite constraints, WFP in Haiti has been supporting the Government with humanitarian and development assistance to address the root causes of hunger and is planning to assist 1.7 million people in 2022. WFP is reinforcing the resilience of Haitians and strengthening social protection and food systems.

For the next six months, WFP faces a funding shortfall of US$ 39 million for its response in Haiti.

WFP’s operations in Haiti have received funding in 2022 from the following: Canada, European Commission, France, Germany, Switzerland and the United States.