Haiti: 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan (January-December 2016)

OVERVIEW OF THE CRISIS

The humanitarian context in Haiti remains complex and fragile due to multiple inter-linked risks factors, notably the persistence of cholera, the aggravation of the food security situation due to the “El Niño” phenomenon, the binational mixed migration crisis with the Dominican Republic, the country’s high vulnerability to natural disasters, as well as the remaining caseload of IDPs from the 2010 earthquake. The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) estimates that 2.1 million people require urgent humanitarian assistance. From those, 1.3 million will be targeted in 2016.

Drought, Food Security, Emergency Agriculture and Nutrition

The food insecurity affecting 3.6 million people - out of a total population of 10 million – has been aggravated by drought and the wider effects of "El Nino" that further exposes Haiti to the risk of hurricanes and flooding in the coming months. Food insecurity and malnutrition have affected rural areas as a result of a drought for the past three years. After a quick evaluation conducted in December 2015, UNICEF and partners estimated at 130,000 the caseload of children under 5 with acute malnutrition, of which approximately 56,000 children are in need of immediate therapeutic feeding.

In 2015, an irregular rainy season has exacerbated the already dire conditions in several parts of the country, particularly in the North-west, Artibonite, Centre, South, and South-East Departments. According to the outcomes of an assessment mission undertaken by the Food Security National Coordination2 , the spring harvest, which accounts for over 50 per cent of the national annual production, was below average, with a loss of up to 60 per cent. A prompt intervention is needed in 2016, which should include strengthening nutritional surveillance at the community level, programs to address acute and severe malnutrition, improving access to food and school feeding programs, distribution of seeds, livestock, tools and other agricultural inputs, implementation of cash-for-food and cash-for-work schemes and access to food and seed voucher systems in the worst hit areas.