In 1804, Haiti deposed French colonial rule and emerged as the world’s first black-led republic to gain independence (Haiti Country Profile, 2010). But, after two centuries of independence, Haiti has remained virtually impoverished and has been ranked as one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere.

In recent reports posted by the United Nations Human Development, Haiti was ranked 146 out of 177 countries listed as the poorest in the world. The report also stated that the country currently operates on an annual per capita income of US$568 (

Poverty in Haiti, 2010, par 2) and makes less than $8 billion in Gross Domestic Product per year (Ward, 2010, par 8). In addition to this, over 80 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line: 54 per cent of which lives in abject poverty and is sustained by an average of US$1 daily (Haiti’s Economy, 2010, par 1). This pervasive state of impoverishment has been further compounded by various social issues: inadequate access to education, poor and inaccessible health care system and high unemployment rates.

Over the years, education has become widely inaccessible in Haiti. This has primarily resulted from the impact of natural disasters, the dearth of public financing of schools and the wide-scale shortage of competent teachers.

When hurricanes struck in 2008, over 900 schools were damaged, some were completely destroyed, leaving thousands of students without sufficient access to educational opportunities. With the passage of the 9.7 earthquake in 2010, the damage was exacerbated. As a consequence, education became increasingly inaccessible. Numerous schools were affected by the earthquake and many of these institutions have not been fully reconstructed since.

In light of the limited subsidy provided by the Government, most of the population is still unable to afford an education. In fact, only 20 per cent of the population has been able to finance secondary education and 65 per cent of those attending primary schools are only able to do so with the aid of government welfare. As a result of this, Haiti now has the lowest enrolment rate of primary school students in the western hemisphere, and just 45 per cent of its population can read and write (

Education Programme, 2010).

What is even more disturbing is the fact that people who have been able to attend school still have difficulty accessing quality education, since many of the qualified teachers have migrated over the years in pursuit of better-paying jobs and better classroom facilities (Rottenscheid, 2009).

Adding to this social malady is Haiti’s poor and inaccessible health care system. According to recent reports submitted by the United Nations, over 60 per cent of the Haitian population lack sufficient access to even the most basic health care services. In addition to this, Haiti’s health system has been significantly underfunded and understaffed over the years. Only 10 per cent of the national budget is allocated to health care yearly, and as such there is an inadequacy in good infrastructure, medicines and other health supplies in many parts of the country (Wong, 2010).

Many hospitals have also had to operate without electricity, and as a result of the earthquake, many surgical, paediatric, central and internal medicine clinics were also damaged and destroyed (Boubacar, 2010). Numerous individuals are therefore unable to access proper health care, and consequently, various epidemic and non-communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDs respectively, have become very rampant over the years (

Poverty in Haiti, 2010). In fact, Haiti was cited as having 90 per cent of all HIV and AIDs infections in the Caribbean. Over 300,000 HIV/AIDs victims have been identified, and deaths from the disease have left more than 163,000 children orphaned.

As for tuberculosis, the number of cases in Haiti is more than ten times as high as other Latin American and Caribbean countries. This has greatly contributed to the staggering infant mortality rate (74 deaths per 1000 live births) and the maternal mortality rate, with approximately 1,400 deaths per 100,000 birth mothers. Additionally, only one in every 10,000 Haitians has access to a physician.

Rural folk are even more adversely affected by this substandard health system. Many of these people suffer from various diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, but they are unable to afford proper treatment. To make matters worse, Haiti’s health system is seriously affected by the shortage of medical personnel, who, over the years, have fled from Haiti in search of better employment opportunities in the western countries. According to the World Bank, 83 per cent of the Haitian medical doctors live outside of the country, and as such there is only an average of one per 10,000 persons.

According to USAID reports, unemployment is rampant in Haiti and this currently affects 70 to 80 per cent of the population (Flintoff, 2009). This means that more than half of the country is unemployed or significantly underemployed, and have had to rely on menial jobs such as selling on the streets or wiping car windows to survive daily. Over the years, these job practices have continued since the country has had little to no job creation. With agricultural production on the decline, the once 80,000 persons employed in the agricultural sector have dropped to 22,000, leaving thousands unemployed. With this increasing rate of unemployment, many persons therefore experience great difficulty affording proper health care, education and daily sustenance.

How can we help Haiti?

Shawna Kay Williams-Pinnock is a teacher of English and a graduate student at the UWI, Mona. Send comments to the Observer or shawna201@gmail.com.