A/HRC/22/65 A. Right to food and food security 78. President Martelly launched a programme against hunger and malnutrition (“Aba Grangou”), inspired by the “Zero Hunger” programme of President Lula of Brazil. The goal for the Government is to regain control of anti-hunger initiatives and to coordinate and target international funding efforts towards that end. Under the auspices of Ms. Martelly, the National Committee against Hunger and Malnutrition (COLFAM) was established with representatives from the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister and nine ministries. The aim of this ambitious project is to facilitate access to food by the most vulnerable, to launch agricultural investment programmes in order to increase national food production and to improve basic services. The independent expert congratulates the President on this initiative, which should be put on a permanent footing. 79. The combination of hurricanes Isaac and Sandy and of the heatwave of August 2012 raises the issue of food security in Haiti. After Isaac, experts who were questioned said that agricultural output would cover not more than half of the country’s food needs. Moreover, various problems linked to the availability of local food products on the local market, the sharp rise in the prices of imported foods and the growing strength of the dollar had a severe impact on the poorest and most vulnerable groups living in particularly difficult conditions in departments in the south and west of Haiti. 80. Experts put the damage caused by the Isaac and Sandy tropical storms at US$ 104 million. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),23 some 2 million people were directly affected by Sandy, including 1.6 million people facing critical needs in food security, agriculture, shelter, health and potable water. The storm killed 60 people and did major damage to infrastructure, roads, schools and hospitals. Seventy per cent of crops in the south of the country were destroyed, including in areas generally recognized as providing food reserves for Haiti, and more than 18,000 dwellings were destroyed or badly damaged. 81. The independent expert encourages donor countries to support agricultural revitalization activities through technical assistance programmes designed to facilitate the marketing of food products on local and international markets. Given that Haiti is particularly vulnerable to natural hazards, the programmes to reduce the impact of natural disasters and to protect the most vulnerable should be further strengthened. 82. The independent expert suggests that the Government draw on the expertise of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food. This right is defined by the Special Rapporteur as “the right to have regular, permanent and unrestricted access, either directly or by means of financial purchases, to quantitatively and qualitatively adequate and sufficient food corresponding to the cultural traditions of the people to which the consumer belongs, and which ensure a physical and mental, individual and collective, fulfilling and dignified life free of fear”.24 B. Right to education 83. President Martelly has made the right to education one of the four priorities of his mandate, and several tens of thousands of children have received a free education financed partly by a tax on revenue from mobile communications. The independent expert welcomes the commitment made to fulfilling a major pledge to realize the right to education by 23 24 GE.13-10672 Humanitarian Bulletin, OCHA No. 23: October 2012. http://www.srfood.org?index.php/fr/right-to-food. 15