“Arguably the two most important steps for the restoration of order [in Haiti] are ending the gangs’ power and holding meaningful new elections,” says your article (Haiti crisis: how did it get so bad, what is the role of gangs, and is there a way out?, 12 January). Peace is a laudable aim, as are the free and fair elections Haitians desperately need. But the international community must recognise that ending conflict in Haiti requires a bottom-up approach that is pegged to making sure people do not go to bed hungry.
At this juncture, the failure of donor countries to ensure adequate humanitarian assistance is unconscionable, with 20,000 people facing famine-like conditions in Port-au-Prince and 4.7 million facing food insecurity across the country – almost half its population.
The UN’s World Food Programme is continuing food distributions to people in a number of high-risk settings where gangs have influence. In December we reached 800,000 people countrywide, with cash grants and school meals too. But we are running out of food supplies. While WFP has scaled up its assistance, the donor community has simply not stepped up.
WFP Haiti is still short of $105m (£85m) to fund its programmes over the next six month