Natural Disasters in Haiti

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Haiti’s economy also took a very hard hit from the 2010 earthquake. But the economy was not in good shape before the earthquake. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. According to the World Bank, Over half the population (54%) of 9.8 million people live in extreme poverty, living on less than $1 a day; 78% live on $2 or less a day” (Margesson and Taft-Morales). Poverty is even worse among the rural populations, with 69% of people living on less than $1 a day, and with 86% living on less than $2 a day. The Millennial Development Goal was established to eliminate extreme poverty (less than $1 a day) and hunger by 2015. In order for this to happen, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Haiti would have to go up by 3.5% per year. This was not necessarily that achievable of a goal before the earthquake struck, but even more so after does it seem more out of reach, especially considering the fact that the per capita GDP has decreased by 30% over the last 30 years. Before the earthquake, there was some economic development occurring, with the economic growth being at 3.2% in 2004. In 2006 the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act was created and an extension was added to the Act in 2008. This Act opened up duty-free exports to be sent to the United States. The United States was a major trading partner with Haiti sending $424 million of exports to the United States, which makes the United States Haiti’s largest trading partner. Haiti was (and still is) the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The earthquake in no way helped improve the standing of the economy. Much of the infrastructure in the area where the earthquake occurred is severely damaged, which has taken ...

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... cholera outbreak is still very much present in Haiti. These are all problems that should have been fixed by now, considering that it has been four years since the actual earthquake. There has been some progress, with new hospitals, business complexes, hotels, universities, and stores have all been built. But the poor have been left behind and are still neglected in many ways. The impoverished have reaped no benefits from this progress. The next step for Haiti is to aim this progress to the poor and neglected in the country and learn how to become a country that can depend on itself and grow economically and environmentally, all with the help of a well-established government. This is all possible for Haiti in the future if they reevaluate what they have been doing for the past four years and come up with a new plan to hopefully establish some lasting change.

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