Habitat for Humanity Haiti is dedicated to helping low-income families gain access to decent housing and accompanying them along their pathways to permanent housing. Habitat has served more than 60,000 families in Haiti, many of them through the 2010 earthquake recovery program.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 58.5 percent of the population living on less than US$2.42 per day. Political instability, food shortages, unemployment, natural disasters and a lack of basic infrastructure have kept most Haitians locked in a cycle of poverty for generations. Access to housing is equally desperate. Before the 2010 earthquake, Haiti already faced a severe shortage of houses.

The earthquake damaged nearly 190,000 houses and 105,000 more were destroyed, adding to the pre-existing backlog of 300,000 houses required to meet the growing shelter needs of the country. Combined with Hurricane Matthew that directly hit the south department in 2016, the housing needs have dramatically increased. Land tenure also remains a large roadblock to rebuilding in Haiti.

Habitat’s contribution in Haiti

To meet housing needs following the 2010 earthquake, Habitat adopted an innovative strategy -- Pathways to Permanence -- centered on holistic, community-led, sustainable urban development, and developed programs to address land rights and housing finance.