News Alert: Haiti Faces Triple Threat: COVID-19, Hunger Crisis and Hurricane Season

Haiti faces an urgent triple threat: the spread of the coronavirus compounded by the start of hurricane season in June and the current lean season period likely to drive millions of people deeper into crisis levels of hunger. Already more than 3.67 million Haitians are facing emergency or crisis levels of food insecurity after the protests and economic disruptions this past fall. It is expected to rise to more than 4.1 million by next month.

 Mercy Corps’ Haiti Country Director, Justin Colvard, explains:

“Haiti faces the worsening of an already urgent humanitarian situation with a looming triple threat: increasing hunger compounded by COVID-19 and the unpredictability of the upcoming hurricane season.

“In this lean season period, ending in June with the first spring harvest, many Haitians are already going hungry with less food available. Families and neighbors traditionally work their lands together to plant their crops. Social distancing and staying at home is not a luxury many Haitians can afford as they scramble to get seeds in the ground, buy and sell food at crowded urban markets and look for short-term work opportunities, biding time for their harvests to arrive. Vulnerable Haitian families will have to make the choice in the weeks ahead between respecting government containment efforts or feeding their families.

“To contain the spread of the coronavirus, we’re already seeing limits on people getting agricultural inputs like seeds at markets and challenges transporting and getting food and hygiene products at affordable costs in urban markets. Halting agricultural production in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus could increase hunger through June and may prove more deadly than the virus itself.”

Mercy Corps has worked in Haiti since 2010 and is leading a group of international and local organizations to launch a mass public campaign to raise awareness of the coronavirus and help prevent its spread, reaching more than 1.5 million Haitians via SMS, voice message, and community campaigns with messages providing accurate information about the virus and dispelling rumors, tips on hygiene promotion and how to prevent spread, and reducing stigma associated with the virus.