While recent developments have critically reduced access to healthcare in Haiti, this healthcare crisis is not a new struggle for Haitians. For decades, the Haitian healthcare system has struggled to provide essential care. That is precisely why Healing Hands for Haiti was founded and why we are still working today to get Haitians the treatment they need and empower them to care for each other. When Healing Hands for Haiti was founded in 1998, it was already clear to us that Haiti was in crisis.
Haiti's Difficult Healthcare History
In 2004, Haiti was considered by the Red Cross to be “the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, with about 80% of its population living below the poverty line,” and the public healthcare system was failing. Just one year earlier, the Red Cross had conducted a study that revealed hospitals throughout Haiti had fewer than 1 hospital bed for every 1000 patients.
Haitians living in poor conditions often experienced dire consequences as a result. One of our own volunteers, Dr. Colleen O’Connell, saw this first hand as part of a Canadian Healing Hands healthcare team in January of 2004.
O’Connell shared that “poor sanitation and hygiene, coupled with inadequate nutrition. . . contributed to a high incidence of physical challenges, ranging from congenital deformities and amputations to stroke-related paralysis and head and spinal cord injuries.”
As we look back on Haiti’s history and where we are headed, we have to echo O’Connell’s words: “If Haitians are going to have a better future, we need to help them establish a sustainable healthcare system.”
The Earthquake of 2010
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit near Port-au-Prince, killing over 220,000 people and injuring over 300,000. Thousands of homes, schools, and administrative buildings were badly damaged or reduced to rubble. Healing Hands for Haiti lost more than 80% of our property in the earthquake, and most of our staff lost their homes.
At one point, over one and a half million people were living in tent cities as a result of the earthquake’s devastation. This catastrophic event was followed by a cholera outbreak that only added to the dire need for humanitarian aid in Haiti.
Before the earthquake hit, the number of Haitians with disabilities was estimated to be about 800,000. After the earthquake, that number grew significantly. There were thousands of amputees and many individuals with untreated injuries that left them with lifelong disabilities.
An island nation trying to heal
In the years after the earthquake, Haiti slowly rebuilt the affected cities with the help of numerous international organizations, and aid from other countries allowed Haiti to improve access to clean water and elect government officials. Despite all the outside help, Haiti’s healthcare system remained overwhelmed, and in 2017, more than half of health spending was still allocated to curative rather than preventive care.
Many people with disabilities resulting from the earthquake never got their homes back. From 2010 to 2021, Camp La Piste in Port-au-Prince was the home to individuals with all forms of disabilities. While the camp provided shelter, it left those with disabilities without regular screenings and needed medical care, and disabilities often worsen without treatment.
The State of healthcare in Haiti Today
The violence that plagues Haiti today has thrown the nation deeper into crisis than we have been since the 2010 earthquake. Nearly 90% of the capital city is controlled by gangs, leaving the remaining 10% so packed with displaced Haitians that a journalist for SkyNews wrote: “It’s hard to describe the claustrophobia and tension that pervades life here.”
The fighting between various gangs and the police has turned into a war that is affecting every part of life in Haiti. Clean water is more difficult to access, food is harder to find or afford, and the stress of the situation is taking a toll. Haitians are overwhelmed by fear, causing some to stop receiving needed treatment because they are afraid to be on the streets.
In some areas, treatment isn’t even possible because of a mass exodus of medical professionals fleeing from the violence. Marie-Marcelle Deschamps, co-founder of health organization GHESKIO, said “this is the biggest brain drain the country has ever seen. It will take at least a decade to retrain and replace healthcare workers in Haiti.”
In addition to a loss in medical personnel, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that more than 60% of health facilities in Port-au-Prince are closed or not functioning. Those that are still open are lacking essential supplies because gangs have been ambushing vehicles carrying supplies.
Even in areas where hospitals and clinics are still running, the care is fragmented and often requires out-of-pocket payments that Haitians cannot afford. Haitians in rural areas often don’t have access to care just because of their location, and a lack of facilities and supplies, including blood, means a higher mortality rate for conditions that are not usually fatal. In 2019, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported that the rate of potentially avoidable premature mortality in Haiti was 167.5% higher than the average rate reported for the region of the Americas as a whole.
The poor living conditions of many Haitians over the years has led to a much higher prevalence of diseases like tuberculosis, and with over 1 million Haitians displaced by gang violence in recent years, overcrowding and poor hygiene have only gotten worse. In 2025, PAHO reports that 6 million people in Haiti need humanitarian assistance, and two in five Haitians urgently need medical care.
Haiti's Growing Disabled Population
It is difficult to know how many Haitians are living with disabilities today, but the UN estimated in 2024 that the number was approximately 1 million, about 10% of the population. In reality, there are likely far more Haitians with disabilities today, and the numbers are growing each day as gang violence takes its toll.
Haitians with disabilities have been especially vulnerable during this time of violence and unrest as gangs have chased families and individuals from their homes. Many within the disabled community aren’t able to flee on their own, and sometimes they are targets of violence because Haitian vodou teaches that disabilities are punishments or curses.
In addition to suffering from discrimination, many Haitians with disabilities are unemployed, and many live in extreme poverty. The challenges for people with disabilities in Haiti may seem insurmountable, but we can help them by supporting them and empowering them.
How to give Haiti a Better Future
Haiti’s road to a better future will be long and hard, but every step, every blog post, and every donation brings sustainable healthcare closer. Here at Healing Hands for Haiti, we are working to not only give care now but also train the caregivers of the future.
Through donations over the years, we have been able to lay a foundation for a better quality of life within the disabled community. We have given mobility to Haitians who never could have had access to prosthetics or wheelchairs otherwise, and we have been able to train and mentor many Haitians so that they can work to improve healthcare in their own facilities.
The immediate problems we are facing of insecurity and blockades of ports and airports will likely only be solved with awareness, time, and foreign assistance, but you can contribute as well.
