Water in Haiti: The Problem

A little girl stands in polluted water, holding a bucket to carry the water back home for her family.

In Haiti, contaminated water is the leading cause of infant mortality and illness in children. Germs for hepatitis, cholera, and chronic diarrhea are carried in water used for cooking and drinking. Nearly every water source in Haiti has become contaminated with human waste because of the absence of a sewage sanitation system.

Haiti now has the highest infant mortality rate in the western hemisphere. The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) reported that more than half of all deaths in Haiti were due to water-borne gastro-intestinal diseases.

In 1990, The US Army Corps of Engineers said of Port-au-Prince, "Epidemics including malaria, typhoid, chronic diarrhea, and intestinal infections are caused by water contaminated by rubbish and fecal matter."

Haiti remains the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with an staggering unemployment rate above 70% and approximately 75% living in poverty beyond US dimension.

You can stop deadly typhoid, cholera, and chronic diarrhea by working with International Action. So far, the Campaign for Clean Water in Haiti has brought clean water to 400,000 people.

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