On The Day Everybody Ate: The Problems Facing Haiti Today

CNN reported that in April 2008, 123 lives were lost due to starvation. Another perplexing fact about Haiti is that it was one of the most popular tourist destination however due to the corruption and violence in the nation, the tourism percentile decreased at a decreasing rate. According to World Bank, Haiti economy declined from 946000 to 29500 in just the year of 2013-14. There are several others reasons that contribute the decline of Haiti’ economy. For instance, the climate does not support the agricultural growth or provide natural resources. There are dramatic climate changes in the nation consequently making the food supply lesser and demand bigger. According to the World Bank “Food prices globally have climbed 83% in the past 36 months and are expected to stay high through 2015,” (Steve Hamm, John Carey 483: 26). This quote could be justifying the future of not only Haiti but also developed countries. As the demand is increasing, and the supply decreasing, the price will increase. There are several ways to resolve the problems encountered in Haiti. By far, the biggest issue in Haiti is the government. The government is filled with corruption. Haiti has always suffered the consequences of the decisions made by the government. The problems might take time to resolute however the problems are very clear and can be solved if the right steps are taken.

Haiti is a prime example of how human needs in one area of the world are interdependent with social conditions elsewhere in the world. Haiti, for most of its history has been overwhelmed with economic

Haiti overloads my soul with so much joy, but breaks my heart into a million pieces. Haiti, the most monetarily deprived country in the Western Hemisphere that also hosts the most dangerous slums, paradoxically has the richest society in affection, bliss, and compassion; the people are vibrant, strong, and resilient. The country itself is a realm of contrasts. Since the year of 2010, my world, and Haiti, has never been the equivalent to their previous ways of life. An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale, killing more than two hundred and thirty thousand people, displacing over one million lives, and injuring over three hundred thousand is where this story originates.

The Republic of Haiti has a unique and vibrant culture. It was once hailed as the "Pearl of the Antilles" for being the wealthiest colony in the world. This small Latin American island tells a story of slaves enduring resistance to the some of the most dominant forces abroad. In 1804, Haiti became the first free black republic and the second post-colonial country in the Americas. However, the days of being the wealthiest colony have since passed. Haiti is now considered to be the most impoverished country in the western hemisphere. The proud history of this country is overshadowed by alarming rates of poverty, violence, and inequality. This island nation’s government has been plagued with numerous military staged coups and misfortunes. I

Misrepresentation plagues this island nation overwhelmed with endless suffering. No one sees the beauty of Haiti through a television screen. All they see is misery – natural disaster, disease and poverty—writ large on the evening news. When most Americans think of Haiti, they see problems and a stressed people. However, there is a resilience and a beauty of spirit to Haitians. Even after years upon years of being dehumanized, my people have never broken. Our culture is constantly belittled, but we smile and gather strength from the sun that shines on our island and we persevere.

Compounding this lack of care, Haitians also lack clean drinking water and proper sanitation systems. Less than half the population has access to clean drinking water, a rate that is only surpassed by civil war-torn African nations. Even worse, half the population of Haiti can be categorized as “food insecure,” and this malnutrition has created a generation where half of all Haitian children are undersized (IFRC, 2010). In addition, this poor sanitation and hygiene, coupled with inadequate nutrition, have contributed to exceptionally high levels of individuals with chronic, yet often at best ill-treated, conditions.

The French solely wanted to use Haiti as a ‘factory’ or an ‘economic producer’ of coffee and sugar to export back to European countries. They destroyed the soil after harvesting coffee and sugar yearly and created rebellious slaves which led to the Haitian Revolution decades later. Haiti had slavery, a revolution, deforestation, corruption, and exploitation. Now it has poverty, shortages in supply for education, no infrastructure, and environmental disasters. The consequence all relates to each other.

Haiti was once the first black independent republic in the world and the richest island in the Caribbean. Today Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the world. What could have happened to Haiti in almost two hundred years of history? The country experienced repeated civil war and foreign intervention. Haiti is not isolated from the international world. Thus, it was not out of concern for ordinary Haitians that the United States intervened in Haiti. It was out of concern for profit and stability within the United States' own backyard. The purpose of this paper is to show the negative aspect that the United States had played in the government of Haiti.

Haiti has been a nominally free and independent nation for 200 years but has continued to be re-colonized through foreign debt and international financial systems. This history of

Poverty is a major global social problem that Haiti must deal with. Surprisingly, 78% of Haitians make less than two USD per day and more than half of that make less than one USD per day, which is considered living in extreme poverty. This adds up to about 660 USD annually. Poverty is such an important social problem because how much a person makes has a strong outcome on whether or not his or her family can eat, go to school (which costs about 131 USD per child per year), and afford clothes or shelter. To most people, making less than two dollars a day is unfathomable. Many parts of Haiti are affected by poverty. Education, for example, is a major part of poverty. The education system receives little to no funding makes it extremely difficult to get children to school, let alone graduate. As long as most students are not graduating or working at well-paying jobs, they will be stuck in the lower class and remain victims of poverty. Also, the price of food is simply too high. People in Haiti are starving to death. Some people must go days without eating and it is beyond heartbreaking. “Haiti’s poorest people depend mainly on self-employment and remittances for their income, while poor people who are relatively better off derive their income mainly from wage earnings and remittances” (International Fund for Agricultural Development). Haiti’s poverty issue causes global problems as well. “For decades, the US launched a series of interventions, both political and military, up

The country that this author chose to research about is Haiti, which has some major health concerns that are present in the country. Haiti is currently working on improving these health concerns. The topics that were chosen to examine Haiti’s health more in depth was women’s health, sanitation and hygiene, and nutrition. This paper will look further into the health of women in Haiti, as well as the sanitation and water supply and nutrition of the population. This paper will also address the steps that have been taken to help improve the health of women, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene in Haiti. The population of Haiti as of 2015 is 10,711,000 (World Health Organization (WHO), 2017). Haiti experienced a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in

Most of the population living in Haiti live in abject poverty. The country is one of the world most unfortunate as

“Manje? Manje?” With empty, open hands and pleading eyes, I am asked by a five year old Haitian if I have any food. His rounded stomach is malnourished from eating mud pies. It is mid morning, when this child should be in school, but instead he is at home. In the background, his mom and three siblings outside their one-room house with mud floors and walls, a thatch roof, and open windows. The poverty level in Haiti is at a heartbreaking high which can be lessened by becoming educated and acting on the problem so Haitians in need can reap major benefits.

When people start to talk about Haiti, the first word come out in my mind is “poverty”, and second is “tragedies”. Unlike other countries, Haiti’s problems are continuous for decades. According to Haiti’s Disasters, Noriega claims that Haiti is not only suffering from natural disasters, but also a human disaster. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, more and more countries start to put their attention on Haiti and providing humanitarian help. However, Haiti’s poverty is not an accident or simply caused by a natural disaster, but a necessary consequence of both external and internal issues, which involves historical, economic, political, environmental issues and influence from other countries.

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. Most citizens lives in constant poverty as 60 percent of the population lives with less than a dollar a day, causing an extremely high poverty rate of 77 percent. This issue will have likely caused many citizens to ignore the fact to remain healthy, since