In earlier assessments, areas such as Cité Soleil and other vulnerable neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince were among places experiencing particularly severe conditions. In 2025, IPC analysis identified more than 8,400 people in displacement camps facing the most severe category, IPC Phase 5, known as Catastrophe.
The situation has evolved, but the underlying lesson remains.
Hunger is not distributed evenly.
Neither are the resources needed to escape it.
Why Food Prices Matter So Much
For a family living close to the edge of poverty, even a relatively small increase in food prices can have enormous consequences.
A household with a stable income might absorb a higher price by changing what it buys.
A household already spending most of its income on food may have no such flexibility.
If rice becomes more expensive, the family may buy less rice.
Then it may reduce the number of meals.
Then it may borrow money.
Then it may sell something valuable.
Then it may remove children from school.
Then it may resort to whatever food or substitute is available.
The progression can happen gradually, which makes it less visible than a sudden disaster.
But the result can be devastating.
FAO has repeatedly pointed to high food prices, disrupted supply chains and economic pressures as important drivers of Haiti's food insecurity. The organization reported in 2026 that violence, economic instability, disrupted supply chains and recurring climate shocks were continuing to undermine food access.
The mud cookie, in this context, becomes almost a final link in a much longer economic chain.
By the time someone is eating clay to cope with hunger, many other safety nets may already have failed.
Climate Shocks Add Another Layer of Vulnerability
Haiti's food crisis cannot be understood entirely through economics and violence.
Climate and natural hazards also play a role.
Farmers depend on predictable seasons, functioning infrastructure and access to seeds, livestock and agricultural inputs. Drought, storms, floods and other climate-related shocks can damage crops and reduce household income.
For a family that is already poor, one failed harvest can have consequences far beyond a single season.
The household may have less food to consume and less produce to sell.
It may need to borrow money.
It may sell livestock.
It may reduce spending on healthcare or education.
And it may become more dependent on food assistance.
FAO's recent assessments emphasize the combined effect of violence, economic pressures and climate shocks on Haiti's food system.
This combination is particularly difficult because humanitarian crises rarely arrive one at a time.
People do not experience “poverty,” “violence,” “inflation,” “displacement” and “climate shocks” as separate categories.
They experience them simultaneously.
A farmer whose crops have failed may also be displaced.
A displaced parent may also be unemployed.
An unemployed parent may also be unable to afford food.
And a hungry child may also be unable to access healthcare.
That is how a crisis becomes entrenched.
Hunger Is About More Than Food
One of the most important lessons from Haiti is that food insecurity is not simply a shortage of calories.
It is also about access, affordability, stability and nutrition.
A community might have food available but lack the money to purchase it.
A family might receive calories but not enough protein or micronutrients.
A farmer might have land but be unable to safely reach it.
A market might be stocked but inaccessible because roads are blocked or transportation costs are too high.
This is why humanitarian responses increasingly combine emergency food assistance with agricultural support, cash transfers, healthcare and nutrition programs.
The goal is not merely to keep people alive for another day.