The Cause Of Poverty In Haiti

The island nation of Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with one in four inhabitants of this small Caribbean nation living in extreme poverty. Plagued by political instability, as well as the devastating aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, the country of Haiti is still struggling for recovery.

The 2010 earthquake was one of the most lethal natural disasters that have ever occurred. In the earthquake, many people lost their lies however that’s not it the GDP rate dropped drastically. The country had no immediate support consequently creating more problems. “The GDP fell 8% in 2010 (from $12.15 billion to $11.18 billion) and the GDP per capita remained unchanged at (PPP US$) 1,200.”(BBC). Social and economic problems just increased there after. Haiti is one of the poorest countries. United Nations Human Development suggests that 57.8% of the people ate deprived of basic necessities such as food and water. CNN reports a shortage of skilled labor and widespread diseases in Haiti. Even today, Haiti has the highest rate of unemployment and poverty in the Americas. About 82% of the population lives on less than $2 per day. The literacy rate is unbelievably low. Adult literacy is variously reported as 52.9% [World Fact book] and 65.3% [United Nations]. Most importantly nobody is coming to rescue the situation in Haiti. Most young children are searching for food and don’t have the time and money to afford an education. The young boys are compelled to work as a laborer at a young age and the women are marred off. According to UNICEF, the women to men ratio for education in 2014 is 1:3. So for every 3 boys only 1 girl is

Haiti is one of the more indigent countries in the world; the country also holds a low economic status. Over time Haiti’s economy grew gradually at around 2.3

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.

Living on an island with two third world countries; the Dominican Republic and Haiti, I’ve seen firsthand the major differences between both of them. The Dominican Republic has evolved from a Spanish colony, while Haiti was originally French. Throughout the years, Haiti has become known for suffering from poverty, misery, and distress. Pauperism has become a huge issue for the Haitians and prosperity of the country as a whole due to a lack of health, education, and social services.

When I was able to go to Haiti for a mission trip with my church. I saw so many people on the street and they looked like they were living out of boxes. Port-Au-Prince, Haiti is one of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. They also have very bad healthcare. Not many of the people there were living the life we are. Most of them are living on about 2 dollars per day. There isn’t much we could buy in Zeeland for 2 dollars. When I would walk down the streets. I see people and kids almost wearing rags for clothes. As I would walk down the street to the market it would smell like rotten food that is 2 months old. Haiti had a earthquake in 2010 that took them down. Almost everything was destroyed. It didn’t help with their poverty stats at all.

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

However, before diving deeper into Haiti’s current economic plight, it is necessary to first comprehend how economic well-being is derived. Economic well-being is certainly not easily reflected by one measurement, say GDP per

In November 2015, I had the privilege of traveling to Haiti on a mission team. While in Haiti, I was awakened by how blessed I am as an American. There are numerous things that we all take for granted every day. The necessities like three meals a day, clean water, comfortable shelter, nice clothing, electricity, and plumbing are taken for granted. Americans who live in poverty receive benefits such as food stamps, government assisted housing, medical insurance provided by the government, and social security. On the other hand, Haitians are left with little to no support from their government.

It’s safe to say that Haiti is poor. Especially compared to the U.S. One of the causes for Haiti being so poor just happens to be humans. They are entrenched in greed and power. The rulers there have ensured Haiti’s despair. Things like soil erosion, bad education system, illiteracy, unemployment, inadequate roads, water systems, sewerage, and medical services are also some of the causes of Haiti’s despair. The international community also has a lot to do with Haiti being so poor. But the main root of Haiti’s problems comes from their government. The rulers there have used beatings, killings, illegal

Haiti is currently in a predicament that most country’s dream they never have to face. On January 12, 2010 disaster struck this already struggling nation.Death totals topped 200,000 and reliable industries and structures were destroyed, leaving the nation in a tough situation. Five years after the catastrophic earthquake which ravaged Haiti in 2010, killing over 200,000 people and leaving 1.5 million homeless, despite a massive international humanitarian and cooperation effort, the country remains the poorest of the Western hemisphere, and is prey to political instability.

Inflation and depreciation of the Haitian gourde is part of the problem. The value of the currency has decreased by 20 gourde to 1 USD in the past years. Now, 1 Haitian gourde equal 1 US penny. It has been hard for Haiti to accelerate economic growth because of low investment numbers, unstable politics and other countries have turned their backs on Haiti. 59% of the population is below the poverty line and the GDP per capita is only $1,800. The overall GDP is a significantly low $8.3 billion and of that GDP, 26.5% is public debt. World Bank says, “Six years after the… 7.0 earthquake… Haiti has moved from recovery to longer development as it continues to improve…” But improvement is relative, Haiti is considered one of the poorest countries in the Western

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

The free goods and services NGOs provide have progressively destroyed the economy of Haiti, and it all began with the exporting of rice from governments of first world countries to places like Haiti. Products from NGOs and foreign aid destroyed markets because as Andreas Widmer brought up in Poverty, Inc. why would you buy something when it is free elsewhere? This essentially became the mindset of most Haitians and even their government, but the worst of it was seen after the earthquake, January 2010. Alex Georges, co founder of Enersa mentioned

In 2001, more than 50 percent of the Haitian population (the 4 million of the 8 million civilians) lived border line of absolute poverty, making US$1 per person ( or 41.984 Haitian gourde) per day. Roughly 1 out of every ten people hardly make US$2 per person each day and those who do not make or receive more than US$2 are considered poor.