24 October 2016, Port-au-Prince/Rome (FAO): Some 1,4 million Haitians require food assistance in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, which wrought widespread devastation on supplies and crops across large swaths of the island nation.
More than half, 800,000 people, are in dire need of immediate food aid, according to an emergency field assessment.
Conducted by the Government of Haiti, the National Coordination for Food Security (CNSA), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) the week after the hurricane, the assessment confirms the pressing need to provide immediate food assistance and help people to start rebuilding their livelihoods.
In the Department of Grande-Anse, agriculture has been virtually wiped out, warehouses have suffered serious damage, and the availability of local produce is now reduced to fruit fallen from trees. Around 50 percent of livestock were lost in some areas of the department.
Luftfoto af et af de ramte områder.
Foto: WFP
Widespread impacts
Grande-Anse and Sud were not the only departments where food supplies and agriculture took a hit, the emergency evaluation shows.
In the Department of Nippes, the communities of Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, Baradères, Grand-Boucan, Plaisance-du-Sud, Asile, Petite-Rivière-de-Nippes have been severely affected, with almost 80 percent of their crops destroyed.
In the Department of Artibonite, the worst-hit town was Anse-Rouge but the four municipalities making up the District of Saint-Nicolas Mole (Bay of Henne, Bombardopolis, Jean Rabel, Mole Saint-Nicolas) were also affected.
The hurricane destroyed from 60 to 90 percent of crops in this area, and livestock, a common activity in northwest Haiti, also registered substantial losses, with 60 to 80 percent of livestock wiped out.
The CNSA is calling for effective coordination of responses through strong institutional mechanisms, good monitoring and evaluation systems, and consultation in order to ensure consistency, transparency and efficiency.
The humanitarian community in Haiti urgently needs $56 million to meet the food assistance needs of people affected by Hurricane Matthew over the next three months.
