Responding to Food Crisis around the World

When soaring food prices triggered rioting and demonstrations around the world this spring, the media began issuing reports of a global food crisis. But in many parts of the world, food insecurity and malnutrition are recurring crises which require ongoing attention.

“Hunger is not a new phenomenon in Haiti.  It has existed for decades in a chronic way,” said Dr. Bernes Chalumeau, medical director of Hôpital Sacré Coeur in Milot, Haiti. “In the northern region, where food prices are highest and we are most affected by the situation, there was no violence.  Here, 10 percent of children between 2 and 4 years old suffer from severe malnutrition, and 61 percent of children between the ages of 2 to 5 years are anemic.”

AmeriCares includes nutritional supplements in the relief shipments it sends to the Center for the Rural Development of Milot and Hôpital Sacré Coeur twice a year. AmeriCares has been working in Haiti since 1994, and provides similar support to Guatemala, Honduras, Malawi and Uzbekistan.

At Malawi’s Malamulo Hospital, AmeriCares provides nutritional supplements as part of a program for people living with HIV and AIDS. The AmeriCares partnership here dates back more than five years, when AmeriCares funded the construction of a therapeutic feeding center in response to the food crisis of 2003.

“While food shortages can affect an entire population, those who are already sick are among the most vulnerable in such a situation,” said AmeriCares Program Manager Elikem Tomety Archer. “Through our collaboration with Malamulo Hospital, AmeriCares is providing ongoing support to people who otherwise might not have their nutritional needs met.”

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