Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with 80 per cent of the population living below the poverty line.

The country has been struck by devastating hurricanes and earthquakes in recent years, whose impact has been worsened by large-scale deforestation.

Two-thirds of Haitians rely on agriculture as a means of survival, most of them small-scale farmers, which makes them particularly vulnerable to these disasters.

The Dominican Republic has a high level of unemployment, despite the booming tourist industry, with the richest ten per cent of the population controlling nearly 40 per cent of national income.

ActionAid in Haiti and the Dominican Republic

ActionAid has been operating in Haiti and the Dominican Republic since 1996 and we now work with 30,000 people in both countries.

Haiti has a strong sense of community responsibility, with many local organisations made up of people determined to work together to solve their own problems.

We support these organisations with funding and training, and work with them to improve access to water, health services and business loans.

Emergency relief

We work to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters through disaster risk reduction workshops.

We also provide immediate relief in the wake of disasters, which include the Gustav, Hanna and Ike hurricanes of 2008 and the devastating earthquake of 2010.

We provide food, water, medicine, sanitation and shelter and work to get children back to school as quickly as possible. We also provide long-term psycho-social support for communities recovering from natural disasters.

Building a future
Over 50 per cent of children in Haiti don’t go to school and as a result many grow up illiterate and turn to begging for an income.

ActionAid Haiti is at work building schools in some of Haiti’s poorest communities, such as Lascahobas. These schools also act as shelters during times of natural disaster.

Map of ActionAid's Haiti country programme