In September, we had the opportunity to visit Jeremie, Haiti, to see the progress of USAID’s Water and Sanitation (WatSan) Project. The project works with municipal water utilities to build staff capacity, rehabilitate infrastructure, and improve operations. One of the main problems with Jeremie’s water system is the high rate of non-revenue water (NRW)—that is, water that enters the system but does not reach paying customers.
Access to clean water and improved sanitation is fundamental to preventing the spread of water-borne disease like cholera. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Haiti supports the Haitian National Directorate of Potable Water and Sanitation to build and monitor essential water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure and strengthen the national water and sanitation workforce. This infographic details some of their efforts
Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus is USAID’s flagship initiative in private sector health. The project seeks to harness the full potential of the private sector and catalyze public-private engagement to improve health outcomes in family planning, HIV, child health, and other health areas. SHOPS Plus supports the achievement of US government priorities, including ending preventable child and maternal deaths, an AIDS-free generation, and FP2020. The project improves the equity and quality of the total health system.
The WATSAN project began in December 2017 with the primary goal to reduce the prevalence of cholera and other waterborne diseases by laying foundation for a long-term, sustained effort to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation in Haiti – this improving the health and well-being of Haitians. Specifically, WATSAN seeks to increase access to sustainable water supply services; increase access to sustainable sanitation services; and strengthen the enabling environment for sustainable delivery, operation, and maintenance of WASH services.
Haiti’s vulnerability to natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and flooding have complicated efforts to repair, expand, and sustain access to safe water and sanitation. The low levels of water and sanitation services and poor hygiene practices contributed substantially to the severity and rapid spread of the cholera epidemic in 2010. Hurricane Matthew in 2016 further compromised the fragile WASH sector in affected areas.
This year’s Global Water and Development Report of Water and Sanitation Activities examines USAID programming through the lens of its new areas of focus and opportunity, takes a closer look at USAID’s support for partner countries on their journeys to self-reliance, and provides a country breakdown of WASH and water funding.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been working with Haiti’s National Potable Water and Sanitation Directorate (DINEPA in French) to improve drinking water quality in Haiti's rural areas. This work, which began after the start of the cholera outbreak in Haiti in 2010 and continued through 2018, is aligned with the Global Water Strategy Strategic Objective 1: to increase sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, as well as Strategic Objective 4: to strengthen water sector governance and institutions.
UNICEF/Responding to Critical Water Needs for People | 2015–2017
In early 2016, Haiti was suffering from a three-year El Niño– induced drought, along with related food insecurity and malnutrition, and infant morbidity and mortality. In May 2016, heavy rains brought an increase in cholera cases.
With 2.1 billion people – mostly in rural areas – lacking safely managed drinking water and reported low rural water supply functionality rates, the Sustainable Development Goals pose a triple challenge: to reach unserved mostly rural population groups, to raise service levels, and to sustain existing and future services.
The $127 million WINNER project, implemented by Chemonics International, began in June 2009 and was originally designed to protect watersheds by preserving hillsides, stabilizing waterways, and building non-farm livelihoods options. As a result of the 2010 earthquake, the government of Haiti recommitted to watershed management and food self-sufficiency and the USG created a post-earthquake strategy. At the same time, President Obama rolled out the Feed the Future initiative.
