Haiti

Of the 2.1 million people affected by Hurricane Matthew in October 2016, one million are still in need of humanitarian assistance.

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Country Overview

Years of political instability and recurring natural disasters have had a devastating impact on the lives of people in Haiti. More than half of the country’s population live below the poverty line and 22 percent of children are chronically malnourished. For years, Haitians have lived in abject poverty and have had to gradually adapt to living in extremely difficult conditions. Haiti is also prone to natural disasters and lies in the middle of the hurricane belt. On the 2017 Climate Risk Index, Haiti is ranked third among the countries most affected by extreme weather events. Devastating cyclones have created serious humanitarian emergencies.

In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful Caribbean hurricane in nearly a decade, struck Haiti. Torrential rains, storms and severe flooding killed and injured many people, and destroyed homes and livelihoods. Of the 2.1 million people affected by Hurricane Matthew in October 2016, one million are still in need of humanitarian assistance. The situation in rural areas is particularly worrying, with families struggling to access food and water, as well as basic services, such as health centres.

569,451: People helped in 2017

What we are doing

Present in Haiti for more than 30 years, our team in Haiti has been both responding to numerous natural disasters and implementing development programmes.

In 2016, we responded immediately to the hurricane by setting up emergency water points and building latrines as floodwaters and heavy rains contribute to deadly waterborne diseases such as cholera. We also organised emergency food distributions to families affected by this devastating crisis. Two years after the hurricane, more than half of Haiti’s total population is still in urgent need of access to basic services. We are still helping the most vulnerable communities recover.

Since the hurricane our teams have implemented the following programmes:

Screening and treating children for malnutrition
Supporting mothers and lactating women by distributing preventive rations and food vouchers
Implementing educational programmes to raise awareness of the importance of nutritious food
Supporting the Ministry of Health to improve the country’s health centres
Implementing "Cash for Work" activities programmes to improve families' income
Distributing food vouchers for those most in need
Implementing technical training for farmers to improve and optimise crops
Improving access to water, hygiene and sanitation as well as a project to promote good hygiene practices