Haiti's rising food insecurity risks social tension: FAO
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ROME (Reuters) - Growing food insecurity in Haiti after Hurricane Sandy risks sparking more social tension, the United Nations (UN) Food Agency warned on Thursday, calling for food, farm and transport investment to boost the country's resilience to climate shocks.
Three natural disasters have hit the Caribbean island this year, including a drought in the summer and Hurricanes Isaac and Sandy. More than 40 per cent of Haiti's harvest was destroyed and losses of about US$254 million (S$311.2 million) incurred, UN estimates say.
About 60 per cent of Haiti's population live in rural areas and more than half of those are now at risk of acute food insecurity, the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said.
"This vulnerability could be a source of destabilisation: if we don't address it, there will be tensions," Laurent Thomas, the FAO's assistant director-general, told Reuters.
