Haiti: senior UN relief official surveys storm-ravaged communities

The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today began a two-day visit to assess the devastation across hurricane-ravaged Haiti, which was grappling with chronic food security even before the recent series of storms.

Successive hurricanes and tropical storms struck the Caribbean island nation – the poorest in the Western Hemisphere – in late August and early September, destroying large portions of its agriculture and infrastructure, and almost entirely wiping out the harvest for the current season. This only compounded the suffering of those who were already impacted by the rise in food prices.

“Hunger is no stranger to Haitians who have been struck by more than their fair share of crises,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran. “Now is the time for concerted global action to get food to the hungry, and to support President [René] Préval’s goal of longer-term solutions to help the country, and its people, feed themselves.”

Ms. Sheeran flew directly to the town of Gonaïves on her arrival in the country today, to speak with people who have been devastated by the storms, and witness first-hand WFP’s emergency and recovery response.

On Saturday, she will meet the Haitian Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis and other government officials in the capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as international donors, partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN representatives, to discuss the best way forward.

Accompanying the WFP chief on her visit is David Novak, head of restaurant company Yum! Brands, which yesterday committed $80 million to help the agency provide over 200 million meals to hungry schoolchildren in poor countries, including Haiti.

WFP has delivered more than 2,200 metric tons of food since the start of its emergency operation – enough to feed almost 500,000 people. More than 300,000 of them are in Gonaïves, the city worst hit by flooding. It has appealed for $54 million to support its work in Haiti, but has so far received only $1 million.