Access to Clean Water in Haiti
Introduction Do you know how much water the average American uses in one day? From showers and flushing toilets to cooking and drinking, the average American uses about 100 gallons of water per day (“Water.org”). Additionally, they know that their water will always be clean. Now imagine Haiti, where the average person lives off of only 4-5 gallons of water per day, which may or may not be clean water (“Water.org”). Millions of people in Haiti suffer every day due to a lack of clean, usable water. Fortunately, to help combat this terrible human rights abuse, there’s a non-governmental organization called Water.org that builds wells in Haitian villages to ensure a long-lasting solution to the issue. Even though the organization is doing wonderful work, access to clean water continues to be a tragic issue in Haiti.
Section 1: Country Profile Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. According to the CIA World Factbook, 80% of Haiti’s population lives below the poverty line (“Central America and Caribbean: Haiti”). This means that the majority of Haitians do not have the money to get the basic necessities in order to survive. Also, Haiti’s annual GDP is $7.346 billion, making it a low-income country (“Central America and Caribbean: Haiti”). Compared to other countries, Haiti’s income is almost nothing. Since they can’t afford even daily necessities, it makes it incredibly difficult for the citizens of Haiti to acquire safe drinking water. In addition to Haiti being economically poor, Haiti also doesn’t have excellent health standards. For each physician, there are 4,000 people (“Central America and Caribbean: Haiti”). That is extremely concerning, because that means many citizens of Haiti are not getting the medical attention that they need. Due to these statistics, it’s no wonder that the average life expectancy in Haiti is 62.51 years, for which they rank #186 in the world (“Central America and Caribbean: Haiti”). Additionally, 76% of the urban
Section 1: Country Profile Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. According to the CIA World Factbook, 80% of Haiti’s population lives below the poverty line (“Central America and Caribbean: Haiti”). This means that the majority of Haitians do not have the money to get the basic necessities in order to survive. Also, Haiti’s annual GDP is $7.346 billion, making it a low-income country (“Central America and Caribbean: Haiti”). Compared to other countries, Haiti’s income is almost nothing. Since they can’t afford even daily necessities, it makes it incredibly difficult for the citizens of Haiti to acquire safe drinking water. In addition to Haiti being economically poor, Haiti also doesn’t have excellent health standards. For each physician, there are 4,000 people (“Central America and Caribbean: Haiti”). That is extremely concerning, because that means many citizens of Haiti are not getting the medical attention that they need. Due to these statistics, it’s no wonder that the average life expectancy in Haiti is 62.51 years, for which they rank #186 in the world (“Central America and Caribbean: Haiti”). Additionally, 76% of the urban