Haiti is a small Caribbean nation occupying the western third of the island of Hispaniola, adjacent to the Dominican Republic.
According to the United Nations Human Development Report, Haiti is considered the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and also has the lowest life expectancy rate of 51.5 years; seventy-eight percent of its population of 8.4 million lives on less than US $2 per day.
1 Seventy percent of Haitians lack sustainable access to safe sanitation while 46 percent lack sustainable access to safe water supplies. Haiti has the highest maternal mortality, infant mortality, and HIV prevalence rates in the Western Hemisphere.
2 Primary public health problems include HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, and perinatal conditions, including low birth weight and birth trauma.
http://www.directrelief.org/WhereWeWork/Countries/Haiti/Haiti.aspx?gclid=CIaQrM3T0ZICFQNEPAodu0WVkQ
Ever fly over Haiti? if so, you can see the border with the Dominican Republic; it is a straight line down the eastern part of the island the two countries share. This is because the Haitians have cut down all available forests for wood and fuel; the Dominican Republic, on the ohter hand, protects its forests and trees. So, you have a Green Line dividing the barren Haiti and the flora-filled DR. Think of what this means for soil erosion, fuel and a variety of other economic issues.