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Haiti
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Watch our Video about Haiti 
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Located six hundred miles off the coast of Florida, Haiti shares an island with the Dominican Republic. With one of the highest population densities in the region, Haiti is the Western Hemisphere’s poorest, least developed country.
Roughly 80% of its 8.5 million people live below the poverty line, most without access to clean water, sanitation, or adequate health care. Infant and maternal mortality rates are the region’s highest, and Haiti’s devastating HIV/AIDS infection rate is second in the world only to Sub-Saharan Africa.
Half of Haiti's population is under 20 years old and 49% of the country's children are not enrolled in school. Life expectancy in Haiti is equally bleak, with women living an average of 56 years and men 53 years. One out of eight children die before the age of five, and one in 14 before their first birthday.
To learn more about the political, economic, and social situation in Haiti, download the IPPF/WHR Haiti Country Brief. |
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Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare
The Haitian government is working to improve the sexual and reproductive healthcare situation by increasing access to modern contraceptive methods, integrating sexual health education into schools, and carrying out public service campaigns in the local media.
Despite these efforts, only 28% of the population uses modern contraceptives. Only 33% of men and 19% of women between the ages of 15 and 25 report using condoms. Less than one-half of births are attended by a skilled health professional. In rural settings, only 11% of births are attended by a health professional.
Haiti is home to more people living with HIV than any other country in the Western Hemisphere. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is 3.8%, second only to Sub-Saharan Africa. Less than 20% of people needing antiretroviral treatment for AIDS receives it.
The maternal death rate in Haiti is the highest in the Western Hemisphere with 680 women dying per 100,000 live births, a one in twenty-nine chance of dying as a result of pregnancy-related causes.
Abortion, almost completely illegal, including in situations of rape and incest, with the only exception being when the woman’s life is in danger. The unsafe abortion rate, estimated to be 16 out of every 1,000 women, is one of the highest in the region. |
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PROFAMIL: Reaching Out to Haiti’s Poor
Established in 1984, PROFAMIL is one of Haiti’s largest nongovernmental sexual and reproductive healthcare providers. Its clinics, community distribution points, and mobile health clinics provide hundreds of thousands of sexual and reproductive healthcare services annually.
For over twenty years PROFAMIL has provided low-cost, high-quality sexual and reproductive healthcare. PROFAMIL’s clinics in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and Port-de-Paix provide family planning as well as early detection of breast and cervical cancers, pre-and-post natal services, and voluntary testing and counseling for HIV/AIDS. In rural areas, a network of health promoters and mobile health clinics provides family planning and basic care, often providing the only healthcare available in these remote communities.
In response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, PROFAMIL does everything possible to ensure widespread access to condoms. During 2005, the organization distributed over 600,000 condoms through its network of clinics, mobile health units, and community promoters.
Despite constant political turmoil, PROFAMIL has significantly increased the range and volume of its services from 92,574 in 2003 to 161,266 in 2005. In recognition of this accomplishment, IPPF/WHR awarded PROFAMIL its 2006 ACCESS Award for their continued ability to provide quality care despite economic and political instability.
PROFAMIL now faces a considerable challenge of how best to serve an increasing patient base with its aging facilities and limited resources. |
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How you can help
Visit us online at: www.ippfwhr.org or contact us at donate@ippfwhr.org. |
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