Hunger grows in Haiti, nearly six million people to be at risk by 2026

(Patria) - Food insecurity in Haiti is expected to deepen by mid-2026, with around six million people projected to face critical levels of hunger amid gang violence and economic collapse, according to a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

Currently, 5.7 million Haitians, more than half the population, face high levels of food insecurity, with 1.9 million at emergency levels, experiencing acute food shortages and high malnutrition, the IPC report stated, Reuters reported late last night.

The IPC, a United Nations-backed index that measures hunger and malnutrition in global hotspots, projects that 5.91 million people will experience food access insecurity by mid-2026, including nearly two million at emergency levels.

Martine Villeneuve, Haiti country director for the non-profit Action Against Hunger, described the absence of the most extreme phase of IPC hunger as "encouraging" and noted that 200,000 fewer people are at emergency levels of hunger.

But she warned that progress is fragile. "The current response is, by nature, short-term and cannot be sustained without stronger, long-term investments to address the root causes of food insecurity."

Haiti remains among the world's five worst food access security crises, with more than half the population relying on aid, Villeneuve added.
The deepening food crisis in Haiti stems from six consecutive years of economic recession and the spread of gang violence, which has displaced families, disrupted livelihoods, and reduced agricultural production, the report stated.

In areas controlled by armed groups, farmers face extortion, and small businesses are forced to close.