PORT-AU-PRINCE (CMC):

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing US$1 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support ongoing humanitarian operations in Haiti.

This funding will pay for the WFP to provide air, sea, and road transport to help move emergency assistance to vulnerable Haitians amid considerable insecurity and difficult access. It will also finance the storage of humanitarian supplies, as well as information management and coordination support to keep the WFP’s operations efficient and effective.

USAID is also working with the WFP to distribute an additional 2,200 metric tons of food, which will reach approximately 100,000 people and arrive in the coming weeks.

The food is in response to the emergency food needs in the country.

To date, the WFP has distributed approximately 749 metric tons to highly food-insecure Haitian households.

USAID has also invested US$20 million in outgoing emergency food assistance programmes throughout Haiti to support the most-vulnerable households with cash transfers and food vouchers, along with activities to strengthen livelihoods and promote key health nutrition practices.

In addition to food assistance, USAID supports communities in Haiti through funding for interventions in shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene that helps ensure that they are prepared for potential disasters.