Haiti's food crisis deepens after floods
Four tropical storms have wiped out most of Haiti's food crops and damaged irrigation systems and pumping stations, raising the specter of acute hunger for millions in the impoverished country.
By Agencies |
PORT-AU-PRINCE: Four tropical storms have wiped out most of Haiti's food crops and damaged irrigation systems and pumping stations, raising the specter of acute hunger for millions in the impoverished country.
"The system of agriculture has been destroyed," Agriculture Minister Joanas Gue told. Aid agencies and diplomats also say Haiti desperately needs help to avert mass hunger.
Emergency aid has flowed in to people directly affected by Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike, storms that triggered flooding and killed at least 425 people in less than a month, including 194 in the critical rice-growing Artibonite Valley.
But the United Nations has raised less than 2 per cent of a critical USD 108 million fundraising appeal, said Stephanie Bunker, a spokeswoman for the world body's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Another USD 18 mn has been pledged but not delivered.
And much, much more is needed, with farms damaged or destroyed across the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
"This will take billions of dollars. This is not something small," US Agency for International Development Administrator Henrietta Fore said.
Schools that were supposed to open in early September are still filled with refugees fighting over scraps of food aid. Much of Gonaives, the nation's fourth largest city, remains flooded and without electricity. Malaria and other diseases are beginning to spread.
"The scope of this is frankly unimaginable in many countries," said US Ambassador Janet Sanderson. "A lot of the progress of the last couple of years has been swept away by these waters."
"The system of agriculture has been destroyed," Agriculture Minister Joanas Gue told. Aid agencies and diplomats also say Haiti desperately needs help to avert mass hunger.
Emergency aid has flowed in to people directly affected by Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike, storms that triggered flooding and killed at least 425 people in less than a month, including 194 in the critical rice-growing Artibonite Valley.
But the United Nations has raised less than 2 per cent of a critical USD 108 million fundraising appeal, said Stephanie Bunker, a spokeswoman for the world body's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Another USD 18 mn has been pledged but not delivered.
And much, much more is needed, with farms damaged or destroyed across the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
"This will take billions of dollars. This is not something small," US Agency for International Development Administrator Henrietta Fore said.
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Schools that were supposed to open in early September are still filled with refugees fighting over scraps of food aid. Much of Gonaives, the nation's fourth largest city, remains flooded and without electricity. Malaria and other diseases are beginning to spread.
"The scope of this is frankly unimaginable in many countries," said US Ambassador Janet Sanderson. "A lot of the progress of the last couple of years has been swept away by these waters."
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