At a glance: Haiti
Newsline
Executive Director visits UNICEF-supported projects on first official visit to Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 7 January 2008 – UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman has just completed her first trip to Haiti, the country with the highest rates of infant and maternal mortality in the Western Hemisphere.
Partners In Health: Preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission in Haiti
NEW YORK, USA, 6 December 2007 – In Haiti, where 2.2 per cent of the adult population is living with HIV, according to the latest Demographic and Health Survey, care and prevention are urgent issues. The Zanmi Lasante (‘Partners In Health’ in Haitian Creole) project is actively working to reduce the number of new infections, with a special focus on curbing mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Basketball star Sam Dalembert brings hope and encouragement to Haitian children
PORT-AU-PRINCE, 25 September 2007 – US National Basketball Association star and Philadelphia 76ers centre Samuel Dalembert has just completed a one-week visit to his native country, Haiti, where he spread the message of hope and encouragement to thousands of vulnerable children and women.
Breaking the cycle of mother-to-child HIV transmission in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 30 July 2007 – Della lives in an isolated village in the Northwest Department, an arid and mostly barren region that is among the poorest of Haiti’s 10 departments. It is in this economically challenged area that the young mother is raising her four daughters while preparing for the birth of her fifth.
UNICEF and partners help child domestic workers in Haiti regain their rights
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 20 April 2007 – Andre does not know his real name nor how old he is. His mother died when he was young and he says he was sent to work for another family because his father was unable to take care of him.
Dropping guns for books in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 21 September 2006 – A back-to-school campaign has brought new hope to the children of Cité Soleil, the seaside slum in the Haitian capital that has long been regarded as one of most violent neighbourhoods in the whole Western Hemisphere.
Football helps Ivna Chérie, 11, forget violence in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – On a sweltering Saturday morning when many Haitians are staying out of the sun, Ivna Chérie is playing football with her schoolmates on the marram pitch of a dilapidated stadium outside the capital, Port-Au-Prince.
Schools reopen in Bel Air, bringing hope and stability to Haitian children scarred by violence
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 31 March 2006 – Sitting in rows of four on benches newly provided by UNICEF, young girls and boys fill classrooms in the schools of Port-au-Prince’s rundown suburb of Bel Air. And you can read the joy and excitement on their faces.
Haiti’s children still struggling for survival
NEW YORK, USA, 21 March 2006 – Haiti’s children are facing a continuing struggle for survival, with one in eight likely to die before the age of five. A lack of basic services such as water, health care and education are compounded by poverty and violence, locking children into a cycle of deprivation and abuse.
Haiti’s President-elect René Préval pledges to put children on top of political agenda
NEW YORK, USA, 20 February 2006 – Haiti’s new President-elect, René Préval, has announced that he intends to put children on top of his political agenda. "Children must be taken off the streets. Weapons must be taken from the hands of children and replaced with pens and books," said President Préval during a broadcast aired by AFP, the French news agency.
Haiti: Grim reality for street children
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 27 December 2005 – Homeless children stand in the middle of a busy street in order to stop passing cars and beg passengers for money. This scene has become far too common in many neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital.
Haiti: Paediatric HIV treatments are saving children’s lives
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 18 October 2005 - Like any boy, 7-year-old Samson Verneret enjoys playing with his favourite toys. But unlike other children his age, Samson is living with HIV.
‘Xchange’ helps children escape from cycle of poverty and violence
PORT-AU-PRINCE, 14 October 2005 – In many parts of this city, Haiti’s capital, armed gangs recruit children for use as messengers, or to commit crimes. The gangs lure the children with money and food – which are hard to come by for many who live in the poverty-stricken neighbourhood of Cité Soleil. But once in a gang, children are coerced to fight other gangs or carry out illegal acts, with a beating or worse as punishment if they refuse.
A home for a child orphaned by Hurricane Jeanne
PORT-AU-PRINCE, 26 September 2005 – “When Hurricane Jeanne hit Gonaives [one year ago], my home was destroyed and both my parents died,” said Daniel Joseph, 11. With no one to turn to for help, Daniel went to Port-au-Prince, the capital.
One year after Hurricane Jeanne, recovery continues
GONAIVES, Haiti, 18 September 2005 – One year ago Hurricane Jeanne slammed into this coastal town, causing flooding and mudslides, leaving over 2,500 people dead or unaccounted for and severely affecting 300,000 more, including at least 150,000 children.
Reaching children with life-saving vaccines
Port-au-Prince, 25 June 2004 - “This is the heart of the immunization campaign in Haiti,” says UNICEF Immunization Officer Enrique Cuevas as we enter the dimly lit warehouse. The cool room offers a nice contrast to the hot summer day.
Haiti Launches Vaccination Week
Millions of children across the Americas will be vaccinated this week as part of an unprecedented campaign led by UNICEF. “Vaccination: an act of love,” will aim to reach the most isolated and vulnerable children in countries such as Haiti where basic health care is badly lacking.
