Although we are only getting started, we aim to progressively extend our coverage of countries around the world.
Haiti is a country in dire need of help.
Haiti is facing so many internal challenges that it necessarily will need outside intervention,
in the name of international solidarity, to help the country get back on track.
We shall see, in turn, the succession of crisis and disasters that befell upon Haiti,
the critical challenges that Haiti is currently facing,
and the international governmental and non-governmental help that Haiti may rely upon to restore order and democracy.
Haiti is a member of the Caribbean Community.
Issue #45: Haiti
The country has suffered such an unprecedented series of disasters.
Who is helping Haiti?
The title of this section is an euphemism.
What Haiti has gone through is in fact a terrible series of disasters.
2010 Haiti earthquake
A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti on 12 January 2010.
The epicenter was only 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital.
Death toll estimates range from 100,000 to about 160,000, with contested government estimates going up to 316,000.
The government of Haiti estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged.
The devastation caused by the earthquake did much to worsen the already fragile economic situation
and deepened the country's external debt.
Presaging to the political turmoil that would befall on Haiti in the following years,
government buildings were badly damaged or collapsed, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly,
the headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
Jovenel Moïse, the president of Haiti, was assassinated on 7 July 2021 at his residence in Port-au-Prince.
A group of 28 foreign mercenaries, mostly Colombians, are alleged to be responsible for the killing.
On 14 August 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the Tiburon Peninsula in the Caribbean nation of Haiti.
At least 2,248 people were confirmed killed as of 1 September 2021 and more than 12,200 injured.
Gang violence
Without a functioning government, Haitian city streets are being ruled by violent gangs.
According to the United Nations, in the first nine months of 2023:
"3,000 homicides were reported; there were also over 1,500 victims of kidnapping for ransom.
The UN says that some 200,000 people (half of whom are children) have been forced to flee their homes
because it’s just too dangerous to remain." [4]
Haiti now ranks as the world’s third-worst impunity offender, behind Syria and Somalia respectively.
Somalia, along with Iraq, Mexico, the Philippines, Pakistan, and India, have been on the index every year since its inception.
Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Brazil also have been there for years – a sobering reminder of the persistent and pernicious nature of impunity.
Charities helping Haiti
Impactful Ninja is listing nine charities that have the most effective impact on Haiti. [1]:
- Hope for Haiti
- Fonkoze
- UNICEF
- Save the Children
- Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL)
- Partners in Health
- Mission of Hope Haiti International
- Haitian Health Foundation
- Haiti Partners
2.81
Full democracyFlawed democracyHybrid regimeAuthoritarian regime
64.55
GoodSatisfactoryProblematicDifficultVery Serious
Haiti’s status declined from Partly Free to Not Free due to the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, an ongoing breakdown in the electoral system and other state institutions, and the corrosive effects of organized crime and violence on civic life.
Haiti is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea.
It occupies the western three-eighths of the island which it shares with the Dominican Republic.
Series of protests and street violence fuelled by rising energy prices,
with armed gangs taking over streets.
Jovenel Moïse, the president of Haiti, was assassinated on 7 July 2021 at his residence in Port-au-Prince.
A group of 28 foreign mercenaries, mostly Colombians, are alleged to be responsible for the killing.
On 14 August 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the Tiburon Peninsula in the Caribbean nation of Haiti.
At least 2,248 people were confirmed killed as of 1 September 2021 and more than 12,200 injured.
The politics of Haiti are considered historically unstable due to various coups d'état,
regime changes, military juntas and internal conflicts.
Haiti has received billions in foreign assistance,
yet persists as one of the poorest countries and has the lowest human development index in the Americas.
There have been more than 15 natural disasters since 2001 including tropical storms, flooding, earthquakes and hurricanes.
The international donor community classifies Haiti as a fragile state.
Haiti is also considered a post-conflict state—one emerging from a recent coup d'état and civil war.
