Haiti
In Haiti, Humanity & Inclusion’s programme is running projects to help contain the cholera epidemic currently raging in the country, and working to develop wider and more inclusive access to healthcare.
Villereson, 14 years old, had his left foot and right arm broken during the 2021 earthquake. Accompanied by his mother, here he participated in his 12th therapy session. | © G. H. Rouzier / HI
Actions in process
With the outbreak of a new cholera epidemic at the end of 2022, Humanity & Inclusion’s programme in Cuba has launched a project to help contain this disease. Our teams support communities with awareness-raising activities, measures to prevent transmission of the disease and by promoting good practices. They are also carrying out chlorine decontamination and distributing hygiene items, such as soap and chlorine products. The programme is working with local actors to coordinate the response to the epidemic and ensure it is inclusive.
For years, Humanity & Inclusion has been helping to develop Haiti’s rehabilitation sector by supporting health centres throughout the country. These actions were stepped up following the earthquake on 14 August 2021, and our teams are continuing to conduct training and skills transfer in the West, Southeast, North and Northeast of the country. Humanity & Inclusion is also seeking to obtain the global recognition of rehabilitation professionals and to strengthen the provision of care, and the programme is working with local authorities to map existing rehabilitation services and develop a referral system for people who need them.
Humanity & Inclusion’s programme also runs an economic inclusion project to enable people with disabilities to find work and earn a sustainable income. Our teams help people to define their projects and develop their activities. They also train companies to be more inclusive, in particular by making reasonable accommodations in their employees’ workspaces. Finally, Humanity & Inclusion supports organisations of people with disabilities with their national advocacy work to promote the development of a more inclusive working environment in the country.
To strengthen disaster preparedness and protection, the programme is raising the awareness and training authorities and partner organisations to consider the most vulnerable populations in their interventions. Assessments of the context and of the preparedness of the population for potential disasters are carried out, as well as simulation exercises, enabling the development of appropriate action plans. Our teams also work with local stakeholders to analyse weather forecasts and develop action protocols that can be applied rapidly in the event of a disaster. In all these actions, inclusion is at the heart of the measures adopted.
Humanity & Inclusion’s programme is also developing a logistics platform for the transport of humanitarian goods and merchandise by sailboats. This pick-up and storage service provided to other humanitarian organisations in the country is a means of ensuring the safe delivery of essential goods to the entire Haitian coast. This service is particularly useful at a time when the country is beset by an unprecedented wave of violence, with gangs closing off the roads and preventing all road transport. To develop its maritime transport service, teams are training Haitian operators and improving their navigation techniques and safety at sea.
Areas of intervention
concretely
Situation of the country
Haiti has been facing a political, economic, social and security crisis for several decades - a crisis that has worsened considerably since 2018, with an unprecedented level of violence reached in 2023.
Organised crime groups, or "gangs", are gaining control over more and more territory, particularly in the capital Port-au-Prince, where they now control 80% of the agglomeration. They commit acts of violence, including murders and mass killings, kidnappings and rapes. This chaotic situation has led to more than 200,000 internal displacements since the start of the year, to various improvised sites (schools, public squares, etc.), which are set up and dismantled as gangs fight for control of new neighbourhoods.
Furthermore, due to its geographical location, Haiti is very vulnerable to natural hazards and has been hit by numerous hurricanes, floods and earthquakes in recent years. These disasters have catastrophic consequences for the population. The recent earthquake on 14 August 2021 left almost 650,000 people in need of emergency humanitarian assistance.
In rural areas, basic services (schools, health centres, etc.) are very scarce, making the population even more vulnerable. In this context of widespread poverty, the situation of people with disabilities is particularly alarming and their needs often go unmet.
Number of Humanity & Inclusion staff: 87
Programmed opened in: 2008
