Haiti’s Malnutrition Crisis Deepens as One in 13 Children Faces Acute Hunger

UNICEF is working alongside Haiti’s Ministry of Public Health and Population and humanitarian partners to expand screening and treatment for malnourished children.

Haiti is facing a deepening child nutrition emergency, with approximately one in every 13 children between six months and five years old now suffering from acute malnutrition, placing thousands of young lives at greater risk as insecurity, economic hardship and disrupted access to basic health services continue to make nutritious food and treatment increasingly difficult for families to reach.

Preliminary findings from Haiti's 2026 National Nutrition SMART Survey show that global acute malnutrition among children aged 6 to 59 months has risen sharply, climbing from 5.1 per cent in 2023 to 7.4 per cent in 2026. The measure includes children experiencing moderate or severe wasting as well as nutritional swelling, conditions that can quickly become dangerous when children are already weakened by illness, poor diets or limited access to medical care.

UNICEF Deputy Representative in Haiti Yannig Dussart said the findings reflect the pressure families are experiencing after years of insecurity, economic difficulties and growing humanitarian needs, which have restricted their ability to obtain enough nutritious food and reach health and nutrition services when their children need them most.

Insecurity Is Making a Nutrition Emergency Harder to Control

Acute malnutrition develops when children do not receive enough nutritious food or experience repeated illnesses that prevent their bodies from getting the nutrients needed for healthy growth. Severe cases can become life-threatening without timely treatment, especially when weakened children develop infections or cannot reach functioning medical facilities.

Haiti's wider security crisis has made that challenge even more serious. Grave violations against children tripled between 2023 and 2025, including incidents involving denial of humanitarian assistance and attacks on schools and hospitals where children may receive nutrition services. Disruptions to these essential facilities can leave families with fewer options for screening, treatment and continued care at exactly the time those services are most urgently needed.

The growing rate of acute malnutrition also shows how quickly household hardship can affect young children, whose nutritional needs are particularly high during the first years of life. Delays in identifying wasting can allow a treatable condition to become much more dangerous, making community-level screening and reliable access to therapeutic nutrition supplies crucial parts of the response.

Breastfeeding and Stunting Figures Bring Signs of Progress

The survey also recorded improvements in several important child nutrition indicators, showing that progress remains possible even as acute malnutrition worsens. Chronic malnutrition, also known as stunting, among children under five fell from 22.8 per cent in 2023 to 17.3 per cent in 2026, an encouraging change because stunting can affect children's physical development and future wellbeing.

Breastfeeding practices have strengthened as well. Early initiation of breastfeeding increased from 48 per cent in 2023 to 68 per cent in 2026, while exclusive breastfeeding rose from 17.5 per cent to 33 per cent during the same period. These gains provide an important foundation for child nutrition, particularly during infancy when breastfeeding can provide vital nutrients and protection against illness.

UNICEF is working alongside Haiti's Ministry of Public Health and Population and humanitarian partners to expand screening and treatment for malnourished children. Community health workers and mobile teams are being used to reach families in insecure and difficult-to-access areas where conventional health services may be unavailable or too dangerous to reach.

A 64 Per Cent Funding Gap Threatens Lifesaving Nutrition Services

The scale of the response now depends heavily on whether sufficient humanitarian funding can be secured. UNICEF says nutrition interventions under its 2026 Humanitarian Action for Children appeal face a funding gap of more than 64 per cent, creating serious pressure on programmes responsible for finding malnourished children, providing treatment and maintaining supplies of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods.

Consistent funding is particularly important because treatment cannot depend on whether supplies happen to be available when a severely malnourished child arrives for care. Maintaining therapeutic food stocks, expanding community screening and keeping nutrition teams operating in vulnerable areas can mean the difference between early recovery and a medical emergency.

A more detailed analysis of the SMART Survey, combined with an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification for Acute Malnutrition assessment, is expected in the coming month. Those findings will provide a clearer picture of where needs are most severe and help shape Haiti's humanitarian and development response as agencies work to ensure that children facing acute malnutrition are identified and treated before their condition becomes life-threatening.