Haiti’s Preliminary Survey Finds Child Acute Malnutrition at 7.4%

UNICEF said Friday, August 28, 2026, that preliminary findings from a Haiti nutrition survey showed global acute malnutrition among children ages 6 to 59 months rose to 7.4% in 2026, from 5.1% in 2023. The data were collected during fieldwork in July, meaning the result describes conditions in the surveyed areas during that period.

At that rate, approximately one in 13 children ages 6 to 59 months in the surveyed areas was experiencing global acute malnutrition. UNICEF defines the measure as moderate or severe wasting or nutritional swelling. The agency cautioned that the preliminary findings are specific to the survey period and surveyed areas and should not be treated as a nationally representative statistic for international comparison.

What the survey measured

The 2026 National Nutrition SMART Survey covered children ages 0 to 59 months and women ages 15 to 49 in surveyed areas across Haiti’s 10 departments. It was conducted by Haiti’s Ministry of Public Health and Population, through the Coordination Unit of the National Food and Nutrition Programme, with technical and financial support from UNICEF.

SMART, or Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions, is a standardized method for collecting nutrition data. UNICEF said the survey examined nutritional status and related measures including childhood illness, infant and young-child feeding practices, vaccination coverage, vitamin A supplementation, deworming and care-seeking behavior. More than 500 enumerators from all 10 departments received training before fieldwork began.

The full report and an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Acute Malnutrition assessment are expected in September. Those analyses are expected to provide additional detail for humanitarian and development planning.

Why the risk is rising

UNICEF linked the deterioration in acute malnutrition to prolonged insecurity, economic hardship and humanitarian needs that constrain families’ access to sufficient nutritious food, health care and nutrition services. The agency also cited the wider pressure on children and families from violence and disrupted humanitarian access.

Independent Associated Press reporting has documented the security environment facing Haitian families, including a gang attack in the Kenscoff area in which 47 people were killed and more than 50 were kidnapped. Such violence helps explain the access barriers described by UNICEF, although the nutrition survey itself measured conditions during July and did not assess events after the fieldwork.

Some indicators improved

The preliminary findings were not uniformly negative. Chronic malnutrition, or stunting, declined from 22.8% in 2023 to 17.3% in 2026. Early initiation of breastfeeding increased from 48% to 68%, while exclusive breastfeeding rose from 17.5% to 33%.

Those indicators are distinct from acute malnutrition. Stunting reflects impaired growth over a longer period, while acute malnutrition can develop more quickly and become life-threatening, especially when illness and limited access to medical care occur together.

Services face a funding test

UNICEF and its partners are working with Haiti’s health ministry to expand screening and treatment through community health workers and mobile teams operating in hard-to-reach and insecure areas. The response also depends on ready-to-use therapeutic food and other essential nutrition services for vulnerable children and women.

UNICEF said more than 64% of the funding needed for nutrition interventions under its 2026 Humanitarian Action for Children appeal remains unfunded. That figure applies to those nutrition interventions; it is not a measure of the funding gap across all humanitarian operations in Haiti.

The next major checkpoint is the expected September release of the full survey analysis and IPC Acute Malnutrition assessment. For families and aid agencies, the immediate practical question is whether screening, therapeutic food and medical care can reach children as insecurity and financing constraints continue to restrict access.

Sources

• UNICEF Haiti: Nearly one in thirteen children under five suffer from acute malnutrition in Haiti
• Associated Press: More than 50 kidnapped as violent gang attack in Haiti kills 47

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