Port-au-Prince, Haiti – USAID/Haiti launched a four-year food security program today to improve nutrition and access to locally produced foods for the most vulnerable households in Haiti. The project, the Kore Lavi Program, is part of the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiatives Feed the Future and Title II. These programs work with USAID’s partner countries around the world to develop their agriculture sectors and reduce food insecurity. It will be implemented by CARE International.

Food production and the means to purchase sufficient food are two key factors that negatively impact the food security of Haitians.  Solutions must include effective mechanism to help identify and assist people suffering from food insecurity.

The Kore Lavi Program directly supports the Government of Haiti to establish a voucher-based safety-net system to increase poor households’ access to food and prevent malnutrition in children under 2 years of age. The program is expected to reach approximately 250,000 households by providing food vouchers, improving maternal and child health and nutrition knowledge, strengthening links between households and health systems, and improving the quality of health and nutrition services.

This program will work to build the capacity of key government institutions, women, and local civil society stakeholders to more effectively coordinate, monitor, and support food security and social assistance programming in Haiti. USAID will help develop and institutionalize a national database system within the Government of Haiti’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor to target vulnerable households.

Food security is a priority for the U.S. Government development strategy in Haiti. In FY 2013, USAID is providing over $38 million for emergency and development food assistance in Haiti.