BOGOTA, (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A severe drought in Haiti has led to acute water shortages, shrivelled harvests and raised food prices, weakening the fragile food supply and worsening hunger among the poor, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said.
The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti already struggles to feed its population of 10.4 million, and 600,000 Haitians already rely on international food aid to survive, the WFP says.
“Thirty percent of the population is moving into food insecurity. That means families are having reduced ability to purchase food and have had to reduce their calorie intake. Families are now having fewer and smaller meals,” said Wendy Bigham, WFP’s deputy country director in Haiti.
The drought, linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon, has gripped other parts of the Caribbean and Central America as well as Haiti, and is expected to last until early next year.
“This is the third year in a row with below average rainfall. The drought is especially severe this year and all departments across Haiti are affected,” Bigham told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.
