On January 12, 2010, a massive earthquake ravaged Haiti, claiming up to 316,000 lives and displacing more than 1.5 million people. On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, made landfall in Haiti with 140 mile-per hour winds, creating a new humanitarian emergency. An estimated 2.1 million people were affected by the category 4 storm, which caused extensive damage to crops, houses, livestock, and infrastructure across Haiti’s southern peninsula.

The majority of Haiti’s 10.7 million people live on less than $2 a day. The current estimated unemployment rate is 40.6%. More than 2/3 of the labor force do not have formal jobs and there is widespread unemployment and under remployment.

Clean water and sanitation are the heart of the health crisis in Haiti. According to UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) 42% lacks access to both improved water sources and improved sanitation facilities.

One-third of women and children in Haiti are anemic.

Approximately 10,000 people have died of cholera, while more than 800,000 have contracted the infection.

20% of Haitian children suffer from malnutrition. Further, half of these children are acutely malnourished. Malnourishment also contributes to high rates of childhood mortality in Haiti and 7 percent of children will die before their fifth birthday.

Maternal and neonatal mortality in Haiti are among the highest in the world.

At least 200,000 children are currently out of school in Haiti and many parents struggle to pay annual fees to send their children to school. The literacy rate is 52.9%

Haitian children face multidimensional challenges. Violence against children is endemic – more than 60% of Haitian girls and 57% of boys have experience physical abuse before the age of 18.

Sex trafficking — Most of Haiti’s cases involve children in domestic servitude, vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse.