Haiti Background

Haiti, which is the western one third of Hispaniola Island is generally recognized as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with approximately 80% of the population living in abject poverty.

What does the phrase "poorest country in the western hemisphere" mean?...... Haitians are poor, because they do not have a high standard of living. Haiti is a member of the Western Hemisphere and has a long history of independence, but it lacks the cultural, political, and economic organizatMcGeehin

• The average Haiti earns on the order of $300-$500 annually and may be able to find day-labor approximately every third day.
• Due to the geographic location of the island natural disasters frequently sweep the nation especially during the annual season for tropical storms and hurricanes.
• Haiti’s population growth rate is currently reported as 2.25% with a median age of 18 years and life expectancy of 53 years.

Haiti also suffers from rampant inflation averaging over 20% per year, a lack of investment by the international community, and a severe trade deficit.

Civil strife escalated in 2004 when President Aristide was forced to leave the presidency, and the country has been administered by an interim governmenttroops since that time.

Recent food riots with President Preval, 2008.

The current population of approximately 8 million people lives in a land area slightly smaller than the
state of Maryland with approximately 2 million people livincity of Port Au Prince.

Extensive flooding due to tropical storm occurred throughout 2004, and additional storm damage which occurred in the spring and summer of 2005 caused severe flooding in local watersheds in the Artibonite Valley and completely destroyed the two main water conveyance systems for Hospital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) and surrounding areas of the Deschapelles