Earth Equity News

Haiti's Poverty Exacerbates Access to Food Aid after Gustav. By Jonathan M. Katz and Alexandra Olson, AP, September 10, 2008. "Food and fresh water ran dangerously low for thousands in the flood-stricken Haitian city of Gonaives and surrounding villages on Wednesday, as governments and aid groups struggled to get aid to people stranded at shelters. Shipments of food and pledges of more poured in from around the world, but the distribution of the emergency supplies was hampered by the impoverished country's chronic insecurity and the poor and often nonexistent network of roads and other infrastructure. 'The availability of food is not an issue,' said Myrta Kaulard... of the U.N. World Food Program. 'Access, yes, is an issue.' U.N. peacekeepers have been handing out water and high-protein biscuits throughout Gonaives, which is still largely underwater... But they have had to switch to distributing only at night to avoid causing a riot among desperate citizens."