HUNGER HIKE – Did you know?
Here are ten facts about hunger in Haiti, the poorest country in the northern hemisphere.
- Two and a half million Haitians live in extreme poverty. Haiti is the poorest country in the northern hemisphere.
- Two out of three Haitians live on less than US$2 per day.
- Ten percent of the richest Haitians possess 70 percent of the country’s total income.
- Fifty percent of urban Haitians are unemployed.
- Shocks induced by climate change threaten over 500,000 Haitians every year.
- Although agriculture is an important sector of Haiti’s economy, the country fails to produce enough food, and imports more than 50 percent for its population’s needs. It imports 80 percent of its main staple: rice.
- Ninety percent of farmers depend on rain for their harvest as only ten percent of the crops are irrigated.
- One-hundred thousand children under five years of age suffer from acute malnutrition, while one in three children is stunted, or irreversibly short for their age.
- Less than 50 percent of households have access to safe water and only 25 percent benefit from adequate sanitation.
- One-third of Haitian women and children are anemic.
Hunger Hike is an annual Fall community fundraising weekend which includes the traditional 3K Walk on Sunday as well as a 5K run on Saturday. This year Hunger Hike is Saturday, September 19 & Sunday, September 20, 2015.
All Hunger Hike proceeds directly support the Lafayette Urban Ministry food assistance programs including the St. John’s/LUM Food Pantry, Food Finders Food Bank Inc., and St. Thomas Aquinas’ Haiti Ministry including the Haiti Water Purification Project.
Hunger Hike 2015 gives companies, organizations, families & individuals many ways to be a part of a community event with a tremendous positive impact on “Fighting Hunger.”
This list was prepared and originally posted on January 12, 2015 by The World Food Programme (WFP). Please share these facts to raise awareness.