Measures to double income per capita

Education of Haiti’s young population is key to development

Under the 2001-2006 Five Year Plan, the Haitian government is focusing much of its activity on meeting the general population’s basic needs, through health, education, and farm programs that are already starting to show results.

One specific aim is to extend the network of health centers and primary health care provision to all of the country’s administrative districts by the end of 2004. Special attention is being given to the fight against HIV/AIDS, as well as to health education. Life expectancy and infant mortality rates compare poorly with those of other countries in the region, underlining the need for extended health care services.

Currently, almost half of Haiti’s population is illiterate, but with the help of religious institutions and the private sector—which together are responsible for almost 90% of the country’s schools — this problem is being actively addressed. Foreign aid agencies have been supporting some school programs; pass rates in primary schools funded by USAID rose by 25% in 2001-2002.

In the agricultural sector, particular attention is being given to the 70% of farmers who work marginal hillsides that have been badly eroded through deforestation and soil run-off. A central aim of the hillside agricultural program is to encourage the planting of environmentally-friendly tree-crops which offer good revenue potential in export markets, not least the “Haitian Bleu” gourmet coffee which commands premium prices.

Through a combination of such measures, the government is confident that by 2006, it can double average per capita income from its current rate of US$300 a year.