Haiti's interim President Jocelerme Privert warns of major food crisis

Jocelerme Privert, Haiti's interim President, says that the international community is failing Haiti after it was devastates by Hurricane Matthew last month. Speaking to the BBC he warned of a major food crisis and asked governments to do more to help the stricken country's recovery.

According to the Haitian government $2 billion worth of damage was caused by the Category 4 storm, which was the most powerful to hit the Caribbean in over a decade. Privert said the losses were equal to Haiti's entire national budget.

While Privert expressed his gratitude to the international community for the sympathy it had shown to Haiti, sympathy was not enough to see the country through the increasingly difficult times it faced. He said: "Heads of government have provided some support both moral and material, but it is not enough."

The Haitian government estimates that 1.5 million people are now in need of immediate assistance – double the number of a month ago.

As well as the initial impact of the storm, the aftermath saw outbreaks of cholera due to storm flooding of sewage systems. Now food shortage was also a concern, Privert said, speaking to the BBC, and that without international assistance the death toll would rise above the 1000 already dead.

Privert said: "If we don't manage to re-launch agriculture then in three to four months we'll find ourselves with a major food crisis.

"Our projection is that we need between $25 million [£20m] and $30m to resolve the farming issue. Right now we have $2.5m."

While the UN launched an appeal to raise $120m in aid, only 38% of that sum had been raised, with world governments pledging $45.6m in aid after more than a month since the deadly storm hit. Of that figure, the UK Government had only paid £1.3 of the £8m committed to the funds.