challenging. The country is affected by cholera outbreaks, food insecurity, malnutrition,
migration and natural disasters. Although the number of cholera cases declined in 2017,
more than 11,600 suspected cholera cases and 130 deaths were reported by the Ministry of
Public Health and Population over the course of the year. If prevention and control efforts are
not continued, another 11,000 new cholera cases will likely occur in 2018. More than 4.8
million people lack access to an improved water source, 1.3 million people are food
insecure, and more than 75,000 children under 5 are affected by acute malnutrition,
including some 25,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Haiti is
frequently exposed to natural disasters, with hurricanes and heavy rains threatening the lives
and livelihoods of the population every year. Although the country was largely spared the
impacts of the powerful category 5 hurricanes that hit the Caribbean in 2017, the resulting
heavy rains caused flooding in 5 out of 10 departments.