HAITI: Millions of children face severe hunger as armed groups and super El Niño push families to the brink
PORT-AU-PRINCE (October 29, 2026) – Nearly six million people in Haiti, including millions of children, are facing emergency levels of hunger, according to new hunger data.[1]
According to data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Partnership – the leading international authority on the severity of hunger – the crisis in Haiti is set to worsen by mid-2027, pushing another 400,000 people into severe hunger to a total of 6.35 million.
The country of nearly 12 million remains highly vulnerable to the impacts of El Niño, due to the country’s heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture. El Niño-associated rainfall shortages and above-average temperatures are already impacting agricultural production and threatening future harvests.
Chantal Sylvie Imbeault, Save the Children’s Country Director in Haiti, said:
“Nearly one in two children in Haiti are experiencing severe hunger. The expansion of armed groups is destroying livelihoods and disrupting farming, while soaring food and fuel prices, cuts to humanitarian aid and extreme weather linked to El Niño are pushing families closer to the brink.
“Violence has created a chokehold on humanitarian aid, leaving many organizations unable to reach those who need help most. The heart-breaking reality is that with funding falling short and rising oil prices driving up the cost of delivering aid, assistance will be nowhere near enough to meet people’s needs.
“Without immediate access to life-saving aid, we may risk losing an entire generation to preventable suffering and death. We’re once again demanding unfettered access for aid workers and to urgently mobilize resources and funding to save lives.”
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Notes:
[1] While age-aggregated information is not available in the IPC data, more than 30% of people in Haiti are children, suggesting that millions of children are among the six million people facing emergency levels of hunger. HAITI: Record displacement and insecurity deepen acute food security crisis | IPC - Integrated Food Security Phase Classification
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