Endemic poverty, organized criminal group (OCG) activity, and recurring shocks from natural disasters—including droughts, earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes—have exacerbated acute food insecurity and other humanitarian needs throughout Haiti. More than 136,000 people remained displaced due to OCG-related violence in Port-au-Prince as of April, with many internally displaced persons facing heightened food insecurity, protection risks, and water, sanitation, and hygiene needs. In addition, the number of confirmed cholera cases recorded across the country continues to escalate amid limited access to safe drinking water and adequate WASH infrastructure.
In Haiti, USAID focuses on providing both immediate assistance to displaced populations and individuals adversely affected by natural disasters, as well as supporting disaster risk reduction programs that promote local and national self-sufficiency in disaster preparedness, response, and management. To augment food security, strengthen livelihoods, and enhance resilience to sudden-onset shocks, such as earthquakes, USAID also supports a five-year, $50 million Resilience Food Security Activities (RFSA) in Haiti's Sud and Nord-Est departments. Since 2011, USAID has supported humanitarian partners, including International Organization for Migration and UN World Food Program (WFP), to maintain emergency stocks of food, shelter, hygiene and other supplies in Haiti in the event of a disaster, as well as to develop the capacity of Government of Haiti personnel to manage facilities and deploy emergency supplies when necessary. In recent years, USAID has deployed Disaster Assistance Response Teams to Haiti following Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Irma, as well as in response to rising emergency humanitarian needs, caused by a number of factors including OCG-related violence and displacement, to conduct needs assessments and coordinate response activities with the Government of Haiti and humanitarian organizations.
