Attachments
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Haiti is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to its geographic location, low economic development, and limited resources. The country’s geographical location — characterized by its presence on the Atlantic hurricane belt and on a low-lying coastal plain — makes it particularly susceptible to sea- level rises (SLRs), rising temperatures, hurricanes, and heavy rainfalls — all of which are projected to become more frequent and intense due to global warming. Over the past 30 years, Haiti has experienced 34 flooding events, 35 significant storms, and 31 hurricanes including Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Haiti also experiences periodic droughts that have impacted its agricultural production and exacerbated food insecurity.
Climatic hazards are also exacerbating Haiti’s vulnerability to fragility, conflicts, and violence (FCV), further stressing the need for immediate action. Climate-related hazards — such as hurricanes, droughts, and floods — have destroyed crops, disrupted food production, and led to food insecurity and malnutrition. This can contribute to further social unrest and conflicts, especially among vulnerable communities. Severe weather events impacting the country have also caused significant damage to infrastructure, homes, and communities, forcing people to flee their homes and seek refuge elsewhere.
Climate hazards in Haiti have also disrupted economic activity and caused significant losses to agriculture, fisheries, and other livelihoods, thereby exacerbating poverty and unemployment, and likely contributing to social instability and conflict. These factors highlight the importance of addressing the underlying vulnerabilities that make Haiti susceptible to FCV and of taking effective measures to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Climate-related health risks in Haiti are significant; they are projected to increase the disease burden of the country. Identified climate-related health risks include (1) increased injuries and fatalities due to extreme weather events, (2) increased heat-related morbidity and mortality, (3) increased nutritional risks, (4) increases in water-related diseases, (5) increases in vector-borne diseases (VBDs), (6) exacerbation of respiratory risks, and (7) decline of physical / mental health and well-being.
While the government of Haiti is committed to addressing climate change through multiple national plans, further efforts are required to strengthen the adaptive capacity of the country’s health system to address its growing needs. Notably, the country still lacks adequate funding for climate-health programming and infrastructure, as well as adequate integration of climate-informed interventions such as early-warning monitoring systems.
Five key recommendations are proposed in this CHVA to improve the health system’s adaptive capacity to growing climate-related health risks:
1. Incorporate climate change into health plans and strategies, thus creating a governance and policy landscape that would contribute to strengthening the country’s health system resiliency.
2. Provide budget lines to channel funding for implementing climate-health interventions.
3. Strengthen health service delivery amid extreme weather events and prioritize support for frontline communities.
4. Expand information systems that are already in place, such as Haiti Data, thus enabling the collection and analysis of climate and health data.
5. Develop building codes that are aimed at strengthening the existing health facilities’ resiliency to climate hazards.