WFP Haiti: Impact of Mariani and demonstrations-related roadblocks on food and fuel prices – Situation Update No 2, January 2024 – Haiti

Highlights

• The prices of basic commodities remain high in the south and are now affecting other departments as a result of the recent demonstrations.

• Fuel prices on the black market have risen by 30-41% compared to prices at the pump, a situation that is becoming more widespread; currently the departments most affected are Centre, Artibonite, Nippes, the North and the South.

• About 90,000 people across the country have been affected by this price increase, limiting their ability to afford basic commodities

Situation

The fourth quarter of 2023 saw several events that affected the daily lives of Haitians. Armed conflict, particularly in the capital, forced thousands of people to leave their homes (including roadblocks), inflation and border closures affected household food availability, especially for the most vulnerable. In November, transport routes to the south were blocked, and since mid-January, socio-political unrest and demonstrations have disrupted deliveries to other departments. WFP’s mid-January 2024 rapid assessment found a 23% increase in the average cost of the food basket in the departments of South and Nippes, warning of price spikes and their impact on the population of the Grand-Sud. By the end of January, two weeks after the first analysis, 49 communes and 357 traders had been surveyed.