An island within an island - WASH programming in Haiti

With harsh environmental conditions and isolation, the island of La Gonave, in Haiti, offers a rare opportunity for studying the impact of long term support in sustainable WASH services. After 19 years of WASH programmes implementation, Concern Worldwide was willing to document different experiences held in this particular context.

La Gonave suffers from a relative lack of investment from the government, which increases its vulnerability in terms of access to safe water and sanitation. This isolation piles up many challenges, endangering population health and well-being: dry and tough environmental conditions underlying scarce water resources and logistical issues, a constraining governmental policy on water and sanitation leading the NGOs to adapt and create new strategies, and complex social and cultural aspects affecting the expected outcomes.

This publication covers aid activities implemented with the financial assistance of several donors, including Irish Aid, the European Commission, Guernsey and Jersey Overseas Aid Commissions. The ideas, opinions and comments herein are entirely the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent or reflect the policies of any donors.