This report will examine the food insecurity issues in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, and look at the actions which have been taken to improve the situation. Food insecurity is a raging dilemma that affects 38% of the population of 10 million. In addition to Government corruption, there are multiple factors that have contributed to the availability of food including weather extremes, natural disasters, and the social hierarchy gaps, which continue to exacerbate the divide between the rich and poor. Coordinated efforts to improve the situation continue today.
Background of weather and its impacts
Haiti’s physical geography is prone to natural disasters and extreme weather patterns. 2008 was the worst year for Haiti as it was struck by multiple hurricanes. This was followed in 2010, by a catastrophic earthquake. In October 2012, hurricane Sandy affected the vast majority of the rural areas in Haiti. Sandy flooded the land, destroyed infrastructure, wiped out ‘90,000 hectares of crops’ (USAID 2013), and more than 39 thousand families were affected. Figure one shows that 3.2 million out of 23.2 million dollars of
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70 percent of their income is spent on food for their family, which leaves around 60 US cents for other needs, including education. However over 40 percent of the total population are unemployed and struggle to provide for themselves (although after the 2010 hurricane, more jobs became available for reconstruction). A day’s income can barely feed more than two individuals. Malnutrition is very common with around 44 percent of Haiti’s population undernourished, 18 percent being children. Malnutrition is also the main cause for deaths of children. Many children are left stunted as their body struggles to develop from the lack of food and energy. One out of five children will die before the age of five in
However, in Haiti’s case, it is so entrenched in debt that the government has problems far beyond water and sanitation. In 2008, Haiti was $1.85 billion in debt to other countries, and that figure is only growing (Varma et al., 2008, p. 68). Additionally, countries that were helping reconstruct the physical water system and infrastructure, such as the United States, have been backing out because they know it is unlikely Haiti will repay them. Failed international involvement is a crucial side-effect of a government in disarray. Other nations do not trust Haiti and do not want to enter the scene of turmoil. Consequently, such a shortage of financial resources is harming multiple facets of Haitian lives. For example, the country does not even know how much water it requires for self-sufficiency because the government has not allocated funds to research and development (Stoa, 2015, p. 5). Moreover, water transportation is currently ineffective. The natural geographic location of individuals relative to the water supply puts the metropolitan areas at an advantage. Wealthier individuals have cisterns and can pay a premium for water whereas rural residing Haitians often travel on foot carrying their water in buckets (Varma et al., 2008, p. 70). However, developing more efficient water distribution procedures for the population at large is costly and requires funding the government cannot
Poverty was an economic factor that greatly influenced how the earthquake affected the population. In Haiti, 80% of the population was under the poverty line. ⅔ of Labor force employees relied on agriculture and due to high unemployment levels, many did not have a job and the population owned an average of under $2 a day. During the earthquake, Haiti’s agricultural industries were destroyed, leaving most of the county unemployed and unable to produce its main exports. This further exacerbated the problem of poverty and left the population without resources, food and water.
Think about this, we live in our own little world where we waste food and money is sometimes just a piece of paper that we just throw around like its nothing. There are people in this world who need that food that we just throw away and that money we waste on stuff we will never use. The people in Haiti need food and water and jobs that can give them the money they need to raise their families. They wish everyday they could have even half of what we have. Haiti is a neighbor to the Dominican Republic, the population is about 9.2 million and is widely considered the poorest country in the western hemisphere. 80% of the population live below the poverty line. 54% live on less than $1.25 per day. Life expectancy is only 30 years and that is
One of the most prominent issues that face Haiti today is hunger. According to the statistics given in the novel On The Day Everybody Ate, “three-quarters of Haitians live on less than $2 per day… and 56% live on less than $1 per day” (Trost). This is not enough for a person to substantially sustain himself/herself. The majority goes hungry. In addition, over a third of the population has no easy access to clean drinking water. Many Haitians do not know where their next meal is going to come from. They are forced to eat day by day, eating what they can.
The climate of Haiti is tropical. In the mountains where trade winds are cut off there is a semiarid climate. Natural disasters are large contribution to food insecurity in Haiti. Haiti has been hit with numerous earthquakes and hurricanes. These catastrophes lead to the death of crops that are already growing and prevent the growth of new crops for a period of time. Haiti is unable to sustain themselves on the food that
Haiti has a failed society partly due the ecosystem while Denmark society lives a successful and sustainably economy. In Haiti, acute poverty forces the population to rely on wood and charcoal for fuel and income, leading to ever more deforestation. Sixty-six percent of Haitians depend on agriculture and small-scale farming, but most cannot produce enough food on the eroded hillsides to even feed their families. When tropical storms regularly hit Haiti, rainfalls ravage crops, bring flooding and wash more topsoil into the sea. The 7.0 Mw earthquake in January 2010 added new dimensions of suffering and urgency. And Haiti’s government, which has been chronically weak for
The economics of Haiti has deceased in the last 4 years after the devastating earthquake that struck it 4 years ago. The Haiti economy has become very poor and one of the poorest country in the south, Central America and Caribbean region making it ranked 24 out of 29 countries in this area and its overall score is below average. Haiti’s economic freedom is 48.1 making it economy the 151st freest country while in the last several years Declines in the management of government spending, freedom from corruption, and labor freedom make its overall score 2.6 points lower than last year. Recovering from the disastrous earthquake in 2010 with the support of the U.S. recovering efforts “Haiti’s post-earthquake reconstruction efforts continue,
This free market system allows low labor costs and tariff-free access to the US for many of its exports. However, Haiti’s economy as struggled for decades. Within the last 7 years, Haiti has experienced substantial roadblocks on the path to economic growth: poverty, natural disasters, weak infrastructure, such as access to electricity, deforestation, soil erosion and inadequate supplies of potable water. Economic recovery has been impeded by the 2010 earthquake and 2012 hurricanes which adversely affected agricultural production and slowed public capital
half of the population go without food daily (Regan, 44-45). Over 23% of children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition. Sadly, flour and water porridge is a common meal consumed by Haitians. The island nation of Haiti has also been recognized for another reason the world’s worst “water-poor” country by the Center of Ecology and
So many children in Haiti suffer from malnutrition and our Feeding Programs are an outreach to many villages, schools, missionary and orphanages here in Haiti. Many of Haiti's poorest areas are in what we call the "regions beyond," and are accessible only by donkey or on foot, and it is where hundreds of children are dying of malnutrition. We are expanding our outreach to other locations because of the famine, but we need your help. Read Sherry’s Journal today to see how you can help us, help
Their GDP and unemployment have never been at the top of the economic chart, even before the disastrous earthquake in 2010. Although natural disasters are not the only contribute to this nations terrible luck; dangerous diseases such as AIDS are spreading distressingly among the inhabitants, and unemployment is a mass marvel that affects more than two thirds of the country’s population. Haiti’s citizens have never been financially stable, with about eighty percent of its population below the poverty line (haitiearthquake).
To improve after a natural disaster such as an earthquake, recovery takes a lot out of the government, the people, and the allied countries. When an unexpected major earthquake hit Haiti, a country in the Caribbean, in 2010, at least 200,000 to 316,000 deaths occurred. The many deaths, displaced people, and destroyed buildings left Haiti in ruins. The government and the people were filled with dreadful sorrows as these truths about a ruined Haiti came to light. Immediately after this disaster, allied countries such as the United States and Canada stepped in to pay for search parties and repairing Haiti, physically and emotionally. Even with the support of allied countries and the government, the development of Haiti is still in need of assistance. Six years later, after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, the handouts and help from allied countries have not been enough to create a fully developed economy and efficient government.
Who is starvation in Haiti affecting the most? One-third of Haitian women and children are anemic. A result of poverty, the average Haitian child’s diet lacks many and most nutrients, including iron. The iron level in Haiti is also low because of intestinal blood loss due to worms and parasites. The people of Haiti face a multitude of problems, and struggle to sustain a full, healthy life. Luckily, organizations like WFP, the Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs, the Food and Agriculture Organization and UNICEF work to end poverty and hunger in Haiti and help these communities rebuild their shattered
Haiti remains poor with a still fragile education society, poor and expensive health facilities and high unemployment. “Haiti was already the poorest
Haiti was ranked 145 out of 169 countries on the UN Human Development Index, the lowest ranked country in the Western Hemisphere. More than 70% of Haiti’s population lives on less than $2 a day. Haiti has a population of 9.893.945 people, 95% of the population is black and 5% is mulatto and white, with a median age of 21.9 years old. The religious makeup of the country consists of 80% Roman