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PORT AU PRINCE – Battered by multiple crises in recent years, Haitians who survived the recent 7.2 magnitude earthquake are now dealing with crumbled homes, lost livelihoods and limited or no access to food. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is stepping up its ongoing vital support to desperately hungry Haitians in the area and working with the Government and partners to extend support to those newly in need.

“It is heart breaking to see families sleeping on the streets without a roof over them. Their houses have been reduced to dust. Public buildings like schools, churches and hotels where they could have found temporary shelter have also been destroyed,” said Lola Castro, U.N. World Food Programme Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, from Les Cayes in Haiti.

“The earthquake rattled people who were already struggling to feed their families due to economic and climate shocks, and insecurity. The compound effects of multiple crises are devastating communities in the south faced with some of the highest levels of food insecurity in the country.”

The U.N. World Food Programme plans to provide support to 215,000 people in urgent need of food assistance in the Sud, Grand’Anse and Nippes departments, the worst affected areas. This is an increase from the 138,000 people we were assisting before the earthquake.

Before the disaster struck, the U.N. World Food Programme was providing food and cash assistance in the south of Haiti. The U.N. World Food Programme has reached 48,000 people in the affected areas since August 14 and distributed over 15,000 hot meals, mostly in hospitals, to patients, their families and medical staff.

Expanding ongoing support, the U.N. World Food Programme has provided food to 13,000 people this week in the remote mountainous areas of Maniche and Camp Perrin, both in the Sud department. With limited access to food, people told the U.N. World Food Programme that they were left to picking fruits from trees to sustain themselves. The U.N. World Food Programme also plans to extend food distributions to food insecure urban areas in the south.

Access to communities in the south was already limited due to recurrent political unrest, gang fights and roadblocks. Damage caused by the earthquake to roads and bridges and heavy rain, following Tropical Storm Grace, are posing further challenges.

Ensuring a coordinated and efficient response to the emergency, the U.N. World Food Programme is working closely with the Haitian General Directorate of Civil Protection and the National Coordination for Food Security.

Maintaining a vital lifeline to the affected south, the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) managed by the U.N. World Food Programme, is flying a helicopter with medical and humanitarian supplies as well as frontline workers to support relief efforts. The U.N. World Food Programme is also using trucks and a barge to transport water, hygiene kits, blankets, food and fuel for the humanitarian community.

Haiti is in the midst of the Atlantic hurricane season, predicted to be more turbulent than average. Supporting disaster preparedness efforts in the country, the U.N. World Food Programme had prepositioned food across Haiti to respond swiftly in case of an emergency. The U.N. World Food Programme thanks its donors for flexibility to use resources for the hurricane season for this emergency.

The 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on August 14 has left more than 2,200 people dead and over 12,000 injured with severe damage to roads and public infrastructure.

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

WASHINGTON, DC (August 24, 2021) – World Food Program USA has donated $250,000 to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support critical earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. The UPS Foundation, our longtime corporate partner, contributed $100,000 of that donation in addition to providing transportation and logistics support for the emergency response. The U.N. World Food Programme estimates that 215,000 Haitians need urgent food assistance.

Following the devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake in southwestern Haiti on August 14, the U.N. World Food Programme swiftly mobilized to provide logistics support to the Haitian government, in addition to transporting government and humanitarian staff to affected areas along with medical and emergency relief supplies – water, hygiene kits, blankets, food and fuel.

“We are committed to helping Haitians recover from this devastating disaster and are grateful for the support of The UPS Foundation and individual donors who have made this donation possible,” said Barron Segar, President and CEO of World Food Program USA. “This funding helps support the U.N. World Food Programme’s relief efforts on the ground, which has included hot meals or cash transfers to 9,000 people, as well as logistics support for medical relief operations and providing food in hospitals to injured people, their families and medical staff.”

“Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti,” said Joe Ruiz, vice president of social impact and The UPS Foundation. “The UPS Foundation is committed to delivering disaster relief and improving the well-being of the Haitian community by tapping into our partnerships and innovative logistical expertise for health and humanitarian solutions to those impacted by this awful disaster.”

The earthquake struck as Haiti was already coping with multiple crises, including widespread hunger, political instability, gang violence and rising food prices – all in the midst of an active hurricane season. Haiti has one of the highest levels of food insecurity in the world. Nearly half the population (about 4.4 million) was already struggling to put food on the table, and of those, 1.2 million are facing severe hunger. The U.N. World Food Programme, which has operated in Haiti since 1969, provided food assistance to 900,000 Haitians in 2020, with plans to reach 1.3 million in 2021.

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

World Food Program USA, a 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, DC, proudly supports the mission of the United Nations World Food Programme by mobilizing American policymakers, businesses and individuals to advance the global movement to end hunger. Our leadership and support help to bolster an enduring American legacy of feeding families in need around the world. To learn more about World Food Program USA’s mission, please visit wfpusa.org/mission-history.

Media Contact:
Toula Athas
Director, Communications
World Food Program USA
tathas@wfpusa.org
202-627-3940

By Barron Segar

All of us at World Food Program USA have been heartbroken by the startling images of grieving families and devastated communities coming out of Haiti following the 7.2 magnitude earthquake on Saturday. As of August 16, the effects of the earthquake include over 1,300 fatalities, more than 5,000 people injured and 4,000 homes destroyed.

Americans watching and reading the breaking news reports are reminded of the devastation Haiti has already endured, including the massive earthquake in 2010 that left more than 200,000 dead and countless families homeless. The country is still recovering, even a decade later. Now, this quake is impacting vulnerable families as they deal with the increased threat of COVID-19, as well as multiple manmade crises: political instability, gang violence and high food prices. Even before this weekend’s earthquake, nearly half the population – 4.4 million people – needed immediate food assistance and over 1.2 million of them are suffering from severe hunger.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is working closely with the Haitian government and authorities on the front lines of this emergency to support logistics efforts, transport lifesaving supplies and humanitarian workers to affected areas, and deliver emergency food assistance to people in field hospitals in Les Cayes and Jérémie. And, thanks to the U.S. government’s Agency for International Development (USAID), we have 3,500 metric tons of food prepositioned across the country to respond swiftly in case of disasters such as this one. This includes rice, beans and vegetable oil and can support up to 270,000 people for one month.

But a month-long state of emergency has just been declared by the government, and survivors will need weeks of support to get back on their feet.

We cannot do this work alone. I’m calling on the American people to please give their most generous gift today so we can ramp up our logistics response and rush lifesaving support to the people of Haiti. With your donation, the U.N. World Food Programme can deliver food to help people in urgent need when disaster strikes. A gift of $75 can provide an emergency box of food that can feed a family of five for an entire month. Please donate today.

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World Food Program USA, a 501©(3) organization based in Washington, DC, proudly supports the mission of the United Nations World Food Programme by mobilizing American policymakers, businesses and individuals to advance the global movement to end hunger. Our leadership and support help to bolster an enduring American legacy of feeding families in need around the world. To learn more about World Food Program USA’s mission, please visit wfpusa.org/about-us.

Media Contact:
Bo Bartley
Senior Manager, Public Relations
bbartley@wfpusa.org
202-627-3737

HAITI IN CRISIS

HAITI IN CRISIS