The World Food Programme updated its assessment of Haiti’s food crisis in October 2021, finding that the combination of the presidential assassination, the August earthquake, Tropical Storm Grace, the gang fuel blockade, and the accumulated damage of years of political and economic crisis had pushed the number of acutely food insecure Haitians to one of the highest levels ever recorded. The assessment found that more than four million people — over a third of the population — were facing acute food insecurity.
The fuel blockade imposed by the G9 gang was having particularly devastating effects on food security. Without fuel, trucks could not transport food from ports and warehouses to distribution points across the country. Humanitarian organizations that would normally be delivering food assistance could not operate their vehicles. The World Food Programme reported that the blockade had essentially paralyzed its distribution operations in the capital region.
In the earthquake-affected south, the disruption of agricultural activities — damaged irrigation systems, displaced farming communities, lost livestock and stored food supplies — had reduced local food production precisely when it was most needed. Communities that normally supplemented their food supplies through their own production had lost that buffer and were entirely dependent on market purchases or humanitarian assistance.
The WFP issued emergency appeals for increased funding and called on the gang coalition to allow humanitarian aid corridors through blockaded areas. They warned that without immediate action, the food crisis would worsen dramatically through the coming months, with children under five at particular risk of acute malnutrition.