The World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday slammed the theft of humanitarian aid in Haiti, where some 500,000 people were made homeless by four hurricanes in August and last month.
“This assistance is donated by the international community to help people who really need it, and it is intolerable that a gift destined to help very poor and hungry people is stolen or trafficked,” the WFP said in a statement.
The WFP was reacting to news that two city officials in northern Gonaives had been arrested and questioned on Monday in connection with a warehouse full of stolen food discovered by police.
“While the case of the food stolen in Gonaives did not concern WFP, WFP is calling for concerted action to prevent such theft and to prosecute the perpetrators of such actions,” it said.
“As a result of the combination of hurricanes and floods and soaring food prices, almost a third of the population is in need of food assistance,” WFP said.
“WFP is providing regular food rations to more than half a million storm victims in Haiti, 266,000 of them in Gonaives,” it said.
In another incident related to the relief effort, a radio station dedicated to the hurricane victims reported that a gunman broke into its studios and threatened to kill everybody inside. Radio announcer Jean-Pierre Blaise said programming was shut down for 48 hours after the incident.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development said on Monday in Rome that they had put together a US$10.2 million “agricultural rescue package” to improve food security for Haitians.
Four big storms — Tropical Storm Fay and hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike — pounded impoverished Haiti in August and last month, killing a total 793 people and leaving more than 300 others missing.
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