ABOUT five million people in Haiti — half of them children — are at risk of famine this World Hunger Day, as continuing political unrest and gang violence deepen the humanitarian crisis in the country.
The Christian charity World Vision reports that, to make the situation worse, the upcoming hurricane season is expected to be severe: 23 named storms, including 11 hurricanes and five others that could reach hurricane status, are predicted to hit the Caribbean region between June and November.
The island of Haiti is particularly vulnerable to such storms. The United Nations has warned that the country’s health system is on the verge of collapse, not least because vital supplies are unable to reach hospitals and treatment centres because of gang violence, which is ravaging large areas of the country. Warehouses containing medical supplies and pharmacies have been looted, and only six out of ten hospitals are now functioning.
About 82,000 cases of cholera have been reported, and there are fears that malaria and other waterborne disease will spread further in the monsoon season.
World Hunger Day, observed annually on 28 May, is a global event initiated by The Hunger Project in 2011.
The country has been in a state of emergency since March, when gangs laid siege to the capital and overthrew the government. Most of the capital of Port au Prince is believed to be controlled by different gangs.
In the past week, a US Republican politician, Ben Baker, reported that his daughter and son-in-law — both missionaries in Haiti — had been shot dead by gang members. The young couple were working with Missions for Haiti, who posted about their deaths online. Davy and Natalie Lloyd were killed alongside the local director of the mission group, Jude Montis.
The charity said that the missionaries, who were leaving a church in which they had been running a youth group, were ambushed by three trucks of gang members.
Missions for Haiti was set up by Davy Lloyd’s father, and runs two churches and a children’s home.
Mr Baker posted on social media: “My heart is broken in a thousand pieces. I’ve never felt this kind of pain. Most of you know my daughter and son-in-law Davy and Natalie Lloyd are full-time missionaries in Haiti. They were attacked by gangs this evening and were both killed. They went to Heaven together.”
A multinational security mission, led by Kenya, which is preparing to leave for Haiti, has been repeatedly delayed.
The development charity Compassion UK reports that about three million children are in need of humanitarian assistance, out of a total island population of 11.5 million. More than one in five Haitian children were already chronically malnourished before the latest crisis began, it says, and this figure is now likely to be far higher. Thousands of families have been forced to flee their homes because of the gang warfare.
Abbel Joseph, from Compassion Haiti, said: “The political instability has led to widespread disruption of food supply chains and significant economic hardship. Families are struggling to provide even the most basic of food to their children. We are seeing increased malnutrition rates, which have long-term implications for children’s physical and cognitive development.”