Haiti’s ongoing gang-fueled social and political turmoil has driven severe hunger levels to new heights, with an estimated 5.4 million people—nearly half the population—now facing acute food shortages, according to data released Monday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
The report also reveals that at least 6,000 Haitians are suffering from famine-like conditions, with no access to food despite exhausting all available coping strategies.
The IPC defines famine or catastrophe-level hunger as a situation where people are on the brink of starvation, destitution, and death due to extreme food scarcity. The number of Haitians experiencing such severe hunger has risen sharply from just under 5 million in March. Projections indicate this figure will surpass 5.5 million by June 2024.
Escalating violence, particularly in and around the capital of Port-au-Prince, has disrupted the supply of basic foodstuffs, limiting access to food both physically and financially, according to the IPC report. Compounding the crisis is Haiti’s soaring inflation, which has stretched household budgets thin, with food expenses consuming up to 70% of income.
Haiti’s food insecurity has worsened dramatically over the past decade. While severe hunger affected only 2% of the population in 2014, today, nearly half of Haitians are grappling with severe food insecurity. U.S. aid group Mercy Corps highlighted the staggering increase in hunger levels, pointing to the nation’s deteriorating conditions.
Around 18% of the population is currently facing Phase 4 or emergency-level hunger, which is just one step below famine on the IPC’s five-phase scale. Many of those hardest hit by the crisis are living in makeshift camps after being displaced by the ongoing violence. Over 700,000 people have fled their homes, often without possessions, leaving them without the means to provide for their families.
For famine to be officially declared, at least 20% of the population must be suffering extreme food shortages, with one in three children malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying each day from starvation or malnutrition-related illnesses. Haiti is edging closer to this threshold, prompting urgent calls for intervention as the hunger crisis deepens.
