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Jessica Feltner
Crisis Communication Paper
7 December 2015

Haiti: Thirsting for Attention

The Republic of Haiti ranks among the top in many categories, including poverty, lack of
education, nutrition, and mortality rates. These rankings all have one common denominator:
water, or the lack thereof. Due to the shortage of clean water, many other problems have arisen in
recent years. Lack of a stable government, diseases and sanitation systems all play a part in the
struggling nation of Haiti. Today, the people of Haiti struggle to find accessible water and
survive the threat of disease on a daily basis. The issue of lack of water has been the result of
many underlying issues throughout the decades.
The Republic of Haiti is located on the second largest island in the Caribbean, which it
shares with the Dominican Republic. According to Water.org the population of Haiti fluctuates
around 10 million people, 80% of which live below the poverty line. The World Bank estimates
that around 54% of the population lives on less than one U.S. dollar a day and 78% on less than
two U.S. dollars a day, contributing to the struggling economy. The country has faced many
natural disasters within the last ten years as well. In 2008, the country was hit by four major
tropical storms: Fay, Gustav, Hannah, and Ike; killing 800 people and ruining 70% of the
agricultural land. In 2010, Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake, leaving 1.5 million people
homeless. Haiti was also affected by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. All of these natural disasters have
contributed to the devastating state of Haiti today.

To say Haiti has a lack of access to water would be an understatement. There have been
environmental issues as well as political issues that have helped contribute to immense shortage
of clean water over the past few decades. Today, Haiti is considered a water stressed country with
around 40% of Haitians lacking the access to clean water, as stated by Water.org. In many
mountainous areas, groundwater exists but accessing the water has been a challenge for many
communities. People in the countryside are often served through piped water systems with
standpipes or water points with hand pumps. However, a large portion of these systems do not
work due to the lack of funds to keep them updated. According to World Bank, few water
treatment facilities implemented by the government are properly functioning for the general
public, making it hard for them to access water. Due to frequent natural disasters, water scarcity
has only increased in recent years. Before the earthquake, more than one third of the country
lacked access to safe water. When the earthquake hit in 2010, it destroyed many of the working
wells and water systems put in place, which were a major source of fresh water. The quake also
forced thousands to flee to the countryside, where water sources became even more overstressed.
Also, few water treatment facilities, which decontaminate the water, are properly functioning for
the general public in the country. There have also been environmental issues that have
contributed to diminished water quality such as soil erosion and deforestation. Haitis seasonal
rainfall patterns also play into the problem, providing too much rain during some segments of the
year, and too little during the dry season. With all of these issues compiled together, Haiti has the
odds stacked against them.
Many of the water contamination problems surface due to the lack of sanitation systems
within the country. According to Water.org only one in five people have access to a sanitary toilet
and most water sources are contaminated with human waste because of the absence of a sewage

sanitation system. That dirty water is often used for cooking and drinking which is exposing
many people to germs that cause cholera, hepatitis, chronic diarrhea, and other waterborne
illnesses as mentioned on Haiti.org. The government of Haiti also believes that improving
sanitation is about changing the behavior. It is crucial that Haitians understand the importance of
clean water, purifying water, and washing hands and food correctly in hopes of preventing the
rapid spread of these diseases. The sanitation within the country has become worse than it was
pre-earthquake.
Due to the high poverty rate, most people cannot afford clean water, so they resort to
garbage-filled rivers to supply their households with water for cooking and drinking. The reason
this becomes such a problem in Haiti is because of waterborne illnesses. These illnesses cause
more than half of the deaths in the country every year. According to Haitiwater.org contaminated
water is also one of the leading causes of childhood illness and the very high infant death rate (57
of every 100 births), which is the highest in the western hemisphere. The United Nations Special
Envoy to Haiti reported that 16% of child-under-five deaths were directly related to waterborne
diseases, before the earthquake. This number is now higher as a result of the earthquake and
recent cholera outbreak.
Even though Haiti is struggling in many areas, many international organizations have
played a huge role in the relief of Haiti. International programs fund 61% of the National
Direction for Water and Sanitations operating costs according to World Bank. International aid
has undoubtedly provided much needed help to the Haitian people. After the earthquake, many
countries promised aid to Haiti, however much of it never actually got there. Many countries and
governments were skeptical to help Haiti because of the unstable government and shifts in
power. However, there are still multiple relief programs acting in Haiti that are provided by

international support. Many water projects take place in hopes of improving the clean water
stability of the country. There is such a thing as bad international support as well. Many projects
started for foreign help in Haiti have not been followed through to the end, or have not been kept
up by those organizations, leaving many treatment centers and wells unusable.
As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has experienced political
instability for most of its history. Haiti has had a history of unstable governments since they
rebelled against the French in 1804, claiming their independence. This instability mixed with
natural disasters has led to many problems within the country. The government struggles to
regain land from powerful families around the capital. This land surrounding Port-au-Prince
belongs to very powerful families and those families dont want to give land to the state to
rehouse people. The government is still struggling with reconstruction funds because foreign
governments have little faith in its ability to handle the relief effort. Three years after the
earthquake, the government had yet to draw up a national reconstruction plan and many people
were still living in tent communities. They also struggle with public administration. The
government has issues putting practices into place when the public administration does not
function. It is a necessity that foreign governments help Haitians to find solutions. So what is the
Haitian government doing? In all reality, not much. Most of the support is coming from
international sources and non-profit organizations. Most governments are not in place long
enough to change or implement anything about water sources or sanitation while in office.
Living Water International has implemented a program called WASH (water, sanitation, and
hygiene) Program in Haiti and many other organizations such as The Water Project, Haiti Water,
are acting to make positive change. One of the many relief programs comes from the Red Cross.
They provided a cholera vaccine and supported cholera treatment centers. According to

RedCross.org, they continue to prevent and treat outbreaks through hygiene promotion, water
purification tablets, oral rehydration tablets, and increased surveillance and response capacity.
The Haitian government and the President of Haiti did not release any statements
regarding the past or present water situation. The only statements released have been regarding
international support and aid. When they did release these messages, it was surrounded around
relief and what kind of aid and supplies they needed. Today, the Haitian government is still
recovering and suffering from the lack of water available. However, they are making
improvements. Due to international aid and water projects throughout the country, Haiti is slowly
but surely stabilizing. They are still dealing with the crisis today, and will be for much of the near
future. Relief efforts are focusing on changing Haiti as a whole and enabling the people of Haiti
to succeed on their own. As a whole, Haiti has not recovered well, due to the lack of government
involvement and pre-crisis planning. Since Haiti is so underdeveloped, they had no plan set it
place and were not prepared for a crisis. They have no direction or plan to end the water crisis
currently taking place. More problems are being presented due to the lack of water, such as the
disease and sanitation problems. These have led to increased mortality rates as well as
malnutrition in many children. As talked about in class and in the text, the Haitian government
had no crisis plan in place for a natural disaster or a water shortage. They were not prepared for
possible crises and werent open to assessing the risk around them. In Lerbinger Chapter 4, the
text talks about ignoring early warning signals, which is very much what the Haitian government
has done. They have let many small things build into a giant crisis affecting all aspects of their
daily life. The government clearly did not step in and handle the crisis because it has continued
for many years. Instead of handling the crisis within themselves, they basically have no control
over the external or internal support. The government should have made a statement responding

the crisis and current situation as soon as possible. They then should have stated what they are
trying to implement to reduce the impact of the crisis, as well as what support they need from the
public and international sources.
All together, the government and country of Haiti could have done a much better job
preparing their country for possible risks and stating where they were vulnerable. They need to
continue to make steps toward prevention and stabilizing the environmental conditions as well as
the economy. The government needs to take action and step in as the leader throughout this time
of crisis. Over time, they have let a set of mini-crises add up to a major crises, and now they are
paying the price and continuing to thirst for attention from outside aid.

SOURCES:
Clean Water: A Health Essential. Haitiwater.org. Retrieved from
http://www.haitiwater.org/why/why-clean-water
Haiti Assistance Program. Redcross.org. Retrieved from http://www.redcross.org/what-wedo/international-services/haiti-assistance-program
Haiti at a Glance. Haiti.org. Retrieved from http://www.haiti.org/index.php/economic-xmaffairs-xm/26-the-embassy/content/121-haiti-at-a-glance
Haiti: Program Objectives. Water.org. Retrieved from http://water.org/water-crisis/watersanitation-facts/
Rocha, P., Stuardo, F. Haiti Struggles With The Lack of Clean Water and Sanitation. Retrieved
from http://www.techo.org/paises/eu/informate/haiti-struggles-with-the-lack-of-clean-water-andsanitation/
Sentlinger, K. Water in Crisis Haiti. Retrieved from http://thewaterproject.org/water-in-crisishaiti
Tran, M. Lack of national plan heightens struggle to rebuild unstable Haiti. Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/jan/10/lack-national-plan-strugglerebuild-haiti
5 Things You Need to Know About Water in Haiti. Worldbank.org. Retrieved from
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/05/27/five-things-you-need-to-know-aboutwater-in-haiti