Our work in Haiti

At a glance

Haiti remains the poorest and least developed country in the world outside Africa. In 2008 Haiti was badly affected by four successive hurricanes and was hit by an earthquake in 2010 which left 220,000 people dead. With a population of over 9 million, it is estimated that 50% of the blind individuals in the Caribbean live in Haiti. The priority eye diseases are cataract, glaucoma and refractive error.

Sightsavers in Haiti

We have recently begun work on a European Union funded five-year project that aims to help deliver the goals of Vision2020, the global initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness, to the Caribbean. From 2010 with our partners in Haiti we will support the training and development of 4 refractionists, 4 optometrists, 3 ophthalmologists, 3 low vision specialists, 10 low vision councillors, approximately 360 primary health care workers, 2 spectacle lab technicians, 2 maintenance technicians, 4 vision centers, 3 surgical theaters and 1 spectacle lab. We are also embarking on a wide-ranging community and public awareness program that will raise awareness of eye health problems and the treatments and facilities available in Haiti.

We work closely with our partners Société Haïtienne D’Aide aux Aveugles (SHAA - Haitian Society for the Blind), and are also currently supporting the National Prevention of Blindness Committee in Haiti, who develop and coordinate eye care services throughout the country. From 2010 we will work with the Committee and Ministry of Health to introduce diagnostic and cataract services at the Eliziar Germain Hospital in Port au Prince, and other locations. 

We continue to work on building the capacity of our partners in Haiti, and also support community based rehabilitation workers for those who are irreversibly blind in the north west of the country, and hope to extend coverage of these services in the coming years.