Rotary International is expanding a major water and sanitation initiative in Haiti aimed at improving living conditions and reducing waterborne diseases in some of the country’s most vulnerable communities.
The expanded program, titled “Collaboration for Sustainable Water and Sanitation Systems in Haiti,” seeks to improve access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene services for approximately 70,000 people in the communities of Cavaillon, Ferrier and Pignon by 2030.
The initiative builds on the Haiti National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Initiative (HANWASH), a collaborative model that Rotary said has already demonstrated success by working with 11 water service providers to maintain infrastructure and sustain paid access to clean water and sanitation services.
The effort is being led by Rotary clubs in Haiti and the Caribbean in partnership with nonprofits and Haitian government agencies, including Haiti Outreach and Direction Nationale de l’Eau Potable et de l’Assainissement, commonly known as DINEPA.
According to Rotary, the program comes at a time when conflict, recurring natural disasters, climate change and geographic disparities continue to disrupt access to safe water and sanitation across Haiti, leaving millions vulnerable to waterborne and hygiene-related illnesses.
The program aims to strengthen local capacity to develop, maintain and expand fee-based water and sanitation systems in 40 urban and rural communities. Plans include promoting handwashing and healthy hygiene practices, discouraging open defecation, restoring and constructing water systems, and training local operators and community leaders to oversee long-term management and monitoring.
Under the initiative, water service providers in participating communities will also contribute 10 percent of their revenue to regional and national water regulatory bodies to help further expand water and sanitation access.
“In a fragile setting like Haiti, clean water and sanitation is one of the biggest challenges the country faces, and Rotary aims to address it head on,” said Marlène Gay, a member of the Rotary Club of Petion-Ville and a transition team member for the initiative.
“By partnering with local leaders, other nonprofits, and government agencies, Rotary members are helping to facilitate access to clean water and best sanitation practices for all, reducing waterborne and sanitation-related diseases for the most vulnerable, including children under five, and creating healthier communities for generations to come,” Gay added.
Rotary said the Haiti initiative is its sixth recipient under the organization’s “Programs of Scale” grant program, an annual funding mechanism supporting evidence-based projects capable of expanding their impact.
Francesco Arezzo said Rotary members across Haiti and the Caribbean are working with local partners to create long-term solutions.
“By supporting Collaboration for Sustainable Water and Sanitation Systems in Haiti, Rotary will be able to help more people gain access to safe water and sanitation—one of the most basic human needs—and lay the groundwork for a healthier, more resilient Haiti,” Arezzo said.
Neil Van Dine said the community-led approach developed by Haiti Outreach since 1997 has already reached more than 300,000 people across 550 communities.
“This approach has reached more than 300,000 people across 550 communities and helped shape WASH practice nationally,” Van Dine said. “We are proud to partner through Rotary to help scale this Haitian-led model across the country.”
Meanwhile, Edwige Petit said the partnership supports the Haitian government’s efforts to expand access to clean drinking water and eliminate open defecation in rural and peri-urban communities.
“As the regulatory body for the sector within the Haitian government, DINEPA is amenable to continuing this collaboration and extending clean water access to every Haitian,” Petit said.
