Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. The country fell from 146th in 2002 to 154th of 177 countries on the UNDP's 2006 Human Development Index. About 76 percent of Haitians live below the poverty line of US$2 per day and 56 percent live on less than US$1 per day.

The limited national food production capacity, the dependency on food imports, the lack of basic social services, vulnerability to natural disasters, the socio-political instability, violence and insecurity in poor urban area s and widespread poverty contribute to food insecurity, by restricting the availability of food and hampering households' access to food.

WFP together with the Government of Haiti (Coordination Nationale de la Sécurité Alimentaire, CNSA) conducted a Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA), in collaboration with FEWS NET and other partners in late 2007 to provide information on the incidence of food insecurity in rural Haiti and on its causes and nature1.