Haiti is an island in the Caribbean region. In 2016, Haiti had about 10.85 million Haitians on the island. Haiti is divided into 10 states which have 42 sub states. The 42 sub states are divided into 145 counties, which are then divided into 571 villages. Based on research, 70% of these 571 villages live in extreme poverty.

In Haiti, 1 percent of Haitians own the wealth of the nation and 45 percent of the population are living under the poverty line. Based on consumption: The national poverty rate is 58.6 percent; and of that percentage 24.7 percent is in extreme poverty. According to the United Nations World Food program, 80 percent of Haiti’s population lives below the poverty line.

At least 80% of Haitian families have no access to health care, have not been able to go to school or obtain a higher education, and have no social services in their communities. Inadequate health services, deficient sanitation systems, and poor nutrition have pushed Haiti to the bottom of the World Bank rankings of health indicators.

Consequently, malnutrition is a significant problem of Haiti. Half the population of Haiti can be categorized as “food insecure.” Half of these children are undersized because of malnutrition. Less than half of the Haitian people have clean drinking water. This rate compares poorly even with other less-developed nations. Economic instability has limited any growth of Haiti.