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Food security improves, security deteriorates in Haiti

Countries
Haiti
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

Main Points

  • The security situation in Grand’Anse has deteriorated following the arrest of senator-elect Guy Philippe, on 05 January with many demonstrations and road blocks reported and affecting humanitarian operations which were either temporally suspended or limited

  • The preliminary results of a new Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) show that food security and availability in markets have improved in the communes affected by Matthew with the levels of inadequate food consumption decreasing in both Sud and Grand’Anse.

  • The issue of school eviction in Jeremie is being gradually addressed by local authorities with the support of the humanitarian community to enable the resumption of school year on this 09 January. A total of 10 schools were identified in the Grand’Anse region with a focus on 6 schools with significant caseload, totalling 429 families.

15,700 Households provided with seeds three months on
Source: FAO

807,395 Individuals living in high-risk areas, including the hurricane zone, received cholera vaccine
Source: UNICEF

300,241 Individuals provided with safe water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene Source: UNICEF

1,168,849 Beneficiaries reached with food assistance in first and second round distributions
Source: WFP

Situation Overview

Following the arrest of senator-elect Guy Philippe, on 05 January, many demonstrations and road blocks were reported in Jeremie (Grand’Anse). As a result, on 06 January, humanitarian operations in Grande'Anse were either temporally suspended or limited and non-essential staffs were advised to stay at home. The situation remains volatile but it is also under observation by all the key humanitarian partners so that it is not affecting the ongoing humanitarian response in Grand’Anse. Plans for daily demonstration in Jeremie from today till 14th January were communicated to the PNH by supporters of the arrested senator-elect.

Local authorities continue to push for a fully re-establishment of schools and have projected the resumption of school year on 09 January, as a new milestone to ensure the return of all children to school, is effective. A series of meetings were held in Jeremie during the past week with humanitarian partners to discuss the possibility of assisting the families that still sheltered in the schools and facilitate the resumption of courses for thousands of students.

A total of 10 schools were initially identified in the department of Grand’Anse (some with a very little caseload) and the humanitarian actors agreed to focus on 6 schools (5 in Jeremie and 1 in Pestel) with significant caseload, totaling 429 families. Due to the short timeframe to vacate the schools, it was identified a temporary shelter where the most vulnerable could be hosted while partners worked on durable solutions. The DPC and Mayor suggested few options (empty plots of land, other empty collective shelter) and humanitarian partners including IOM, ACTED, JPHRO outlined the strategy/methodology to carry out this relocation. WFP will include the target population of the school in their second round distribution which will be in cash and UNICEF is preparing with partners to rehabilitate the schools once vacated.

The urgency is even stronger as not all children have returned in the schools that have opened. A risk of clashes between students and people displaced in schools remains high appealing to an urgent relocation of families in order to carry out the sanitation and rehabilitation of schools. In fact, following extensive evaluation in Grand’Anse, it also revealed that education is still affected by the important number of schools destroyed or damaged by the hurricane. 175 schools were completely destroyed and 137 damaged (public and non-public schools) representing another challenge for the restart of education in the region.

The preliminary results of a new Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) conducted by FAO, WFP and CNSA show that food security and availability in markets have improved in the communes affected by Matthew and where WFP intervened in Priority one zones, mainly in Grand’Anse and Sud regions. In both Sud and Grand’Anse, the levels of inadequate food consumption decreased respectively from 79 percent after the hurricane to 41 percent two months later and from 78 percent to 54 percent. However, the need to continue providing food assistance and retargeting interventions as well as initiating recovery efforts to avoid further deterioration of levels of food security remains. Other areas of the country show high levels of food insecurity in areas such as La Gonave, North West and Nippes.

The EFSA also helped assess the impact of an introduction of the cash based transfers interventions for foods by showing that the food basket of 2,000 Kcal varies per region. Within the Nippes and Sud regions it will cost around 150 Gourdes per day for a family of 5 people, 4,500 Gourdes for a monthly family ration while in Grande’Anse and given the higher prices after the hurricane, the same food basket will cost 175 Gourdes per family of 5 people, 5,000 Gourdes a ration monthly.

The identification of priority areas for shelter assistance is ongoing using various data sources; the sector is currently mapping buildings damages per commune and per “section communale” for the early recovery and more durable response. Two maps for Grand Anse were released last week for Roseaux and Moron and more priority areas will be identified based on level of damages sustained by houses. Next maps for Grand Anse will target Abricot, Bonbon and Dame Marie.

A recent preliminary report by the “Bureau du Secrétaire d’Etat à l’Intégration des Personnes Handicapées (BSEIPH)” in Sud region illustrates the impact and the current response to Hurricane Matthew on people living with disabilities. The Sud region has about 774,976 inhabitants, according to the “Institut Haitien de Statistique et d’Informatique” data. Given that 10% of the population is estimated living with a disability, the report estimates that the number of people with disabilities is around 7,700 people in the Sud which likely 65% were affected by Hurricane Matthew.

The BSEIPH was able to assess a provisional number of 1,235 people with disabilities directly affected by the hurricane among them 207 people which are in specialized institutions for disability. The assessment was done in 12 communes in the Sud in collaboration with two local organizations FONTEN and RANIPH Sud and with the support of IOM and Handicap International. OCHA has been coordinating partners’ response in one those specialized institutions, the SSHA School for the visually impaired.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.