In fiscal year 2013, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of Food for Peace (FFP) awarded funding to CARE International and its partners, Action Contre La Faim International (ACF) and the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), to implement a Title II development food assistance program in Haiti.1 The four-year Kore Lavi Program directly supports the Government of Haiti’s (GOH) social protection efforts. The overall objective of the program is to reduce food insecurity and vulnerability by supporting the GOH in establishing a replicable safety net system and expanding capacities for preventing child undernutrition.

KEY FINDINGS.
The Title II program area residents face challenges in all four pillars of food security: (1) availability of food, (2) access to food, (3) utilization of food and (4) stability.

Survey results indicate that 57.5 percent of households suffer from moderate hunger and 13.5 percent of households suffer from severe hunger.

An HDDS of 6.2 indicates that households in the Kore Lavi Program area typically can access and consume 6 of 12 basic food groups. Qualitative data indicate that food consumption is pragmatic at the household level. Individual families eat what is available, what they can grow or what they can afford to purchase. Despite these challenges, many respondents spoke ardently to beliefs about the cultural significance of certain foods, while also holding strong opinions on imported food in comparison to locally produced food.

The household survey data show that 69 percent of all households have an adequate level of food consumption, 22 percent score at the borderline level, and 9 percent score at the poor level.

Across the Kore Lavi Program area, 43.6 percent of households currently live in extreme poverty (less than the international poverty line of USD$1.25 at 2005 prices), with average daily per capita expenditures of constant USD$ 2.10.

The household survey data show that 40 percent of households use an improved drinking water source and 16 percent of households use a non-shared improved sanitation facility.

As measured by body mass index (BMI), the nutritional status of women 15-49 years of age who are not pregnant or two months post-partum is generally satisfactory despite a lack of dietary diversity.

The survey data reveal that 8 percent of children under five years of age in the Kore Lavi Program area show signs of being moderately or severely underweight, and 19 percent of children under five years of age are stunted.

Across the qualitative data, views about gender equality tended to be polarized, rooted historically and in tradition.