Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  Today, 80% of the population lives in abject poverty – more than half exist on less than 1 US dollar a day.   

Future in Crisis
With almost 50% of the country’s population under the age of 18, Haiti’s uncertain future lies in the hands of its youth.  Yet education and child development remain a distant priority in a place devastated by violence, political corruption and environmental degradation. 

Haiti’s public education system is incapable of meeting population demands. Private schooling accounts for 88% of all schools in Haiti, thus excluding a large majority of low income families.  Primary school enrollment rates are less than 50%, while only 15% attend secondary school.

Children who can afford to go to school do so under deplorable circumstances.  In urban areas, armed gangs walk the streets where children have been kidnapped on their way to school.  Students struggle through the school day without food.  Many classrooms are infested with rats, while rotting walls and ceilings make them susceptible to rain and flooding.  45% of schools have no working sanitation services and less than a third have access to drinking water.

Haiti’s literacy rate stands at only 53%, and the country is desperately lacking skilled professionals.  Unless more resources are directed towards educating its 4 million youth, Haiti will only continue to fall behind other developing nations.

Resource links:
Unicef
World Bank