United Nations Radio

The UN country team in Haiti has taken urgent measures in response to the food crisis in the country.

There have been riots caused by the rising food prices. Several people have been killed including a UN police officer. UN spokesperson Michele Montas says the World Food Programme (WFP) in Haiti will be handing out some 8,000 tonnes of food in the coming days in the north, west and central regions.

"This operation will focus on children, pregnant women and nursing mothers. UNICEF, for its part, will double its child feeding programme to combat malnutrition and will spend some $1.6 million on water and sanitation in the north-west and the Artibonite regions."

The Brazilian contingent of the UN Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) is distributing 14 tonnes of food to more than 3,000 families in the capital Port-au-Prince as a gift from the government of Brazil.

Meanwhile, the UN Stabilization Mission and WFP continue to support various projects aimed at creating jobs. These projects, with a combined $2.3 million budget, already employ some 2,500 Haitians.

For UN Radio, I am Elena Vapnitchnaia.

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