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Overview
Throughout 2022, a combination of socio-political instability, insecurity, economic downturn and unprecedented global food crisis further deteriorated the humanitarian situation. Haiti is among the five countries with the "worst deterioration in peacefulness" in 2022 [1]. In fact, as of 26 September 2022, at least 1.5 million people were directly impacted by the escalating social unrest [2]. This, coupled with a new cholera outbreak that quickly spread in the most deprived areas [3], triggered the declaration of a Corporate Scale-Up Emergency on 27 October [4].
As insecurity and armed group violence increased, food security worsened [5]. According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) covering September 2022 to February 2023, nearly half of the population was in Phase 3+ (crisis) at the close of 2022, out of which 19,200 were in Phase 5 (catastrophic) in Cité Soleil [6].
In this context, during 2022, WFP ramped up its assistance to Haitians and support to humanitarian organizations to respond to the dire situation. Across WFP’s operations, the number of people reached surged from 1.3 million in 2021 to 1.6 million, distributing a total of 10,233 mt of food and USD 28.2 million of cash-based transfers (CBT). Overall, WFP reached 109,048 persons with disabilities (54 percent women; 46 percent men) countrywide.
Through its emergency response, WFP focused on staying and delivering life-saving assistance reaching 777,019 people with 5,507 mt of food and USD 22 million in CBT. To support the operations, WFP created an access unit to negotiate access to populations affected by violence and to safeguard logistics routes.
Demand for bilateral logistics services from the Government, and humanitarian and development organizations soared. For instance, the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), operated by WFP, was crucial for all humanitarian organizations to have a safe, reliable and timely means of transport in the country. UNHAS allowed providing immediate support to vulnerable populations facing difficulties accessing their livelihoods and obtaining vital supplies. WFP also provided fuel to its partners and to key facilities such as hospitals and Haiti’s National Directorate of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Likewise, WFP distributed 122,248 gallons of fuel, 76 percent during and after the crisis in September, and continued its maritime service to assist partners circumvent armed group-controlled areas.
While responding to a deteriorating humanitarian situation, WFP also invested in long-term solutions towards achieving Zero Hunger, addressing undernutrition and strengthening national social protection, education and food systems that are central to the country’s recovery efforts and communities’ empowerment.
Through the school feeding programme, WFP served daily school meals to 358,000 students in 1,700 schools, of which 105,460 received hot meals as part of the home-grown school feeding programme, which connects schools to local markets and producers [7]. In addition, the school rehabilitation component successfully continued throughout the year.
WFP also increased vulnerable communities' resilience to shocks and unexpected onset catastrophes by developing, restoring and upgrading community assets. WFP supported 112,950 people in the rehabilitation of natural resources, the creation of rural assets and the diversification of livelihood strategies.
Furthermore, WFP reinforced its commitment to social protection as articulated in the National Social Protection and Promotion Policy. In 2022, the social safety net ASPIRE [8], implemented by WFP on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, delivered CBT to the most vulnerable households with pregnant and lactating women and girls, children aged 6-59 months, and persons with disabilities in the Grand’Anse Department, covering more than 23,000 households [9]. WFP also supported the development of the social registry which covered 28 percent of the population in 2022.
Despite multiple challenges, including the looting of two WFP warehouses and the destruction of a suboffice, WFP achieved its target to assist an ever-increasing number of people affected by the complex crisis, thereby contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 2 (Zero Hunger) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). WFP demonstrated its ability to adapt to this changing environment, and resilience to stay and deliver thanks to the technical and financial support of WFP’s partners. As WFP is heading to the end of its current Country Strategic Plan, the country office started a CSP evaluation to assess the progress towards planned results and inform the design of the next CSP 2024-2028.