The native Taino Amerindians – who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by COLUMBUS in 1492 – were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti’s nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L’OUVERTURE. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first black republic to declare independence in 1804. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the forced resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE in February 2004, an interim government took office to organize new elections under the auspices of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Continued violence and technical delays prompted repeated postponements, but Haiti finally did inaugurate a democratically elected president and parliament in May of 2006. A massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010 with an epicenter about 15 km southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince. An estimated 2 million people lived within the zone of heavy to moderate structural damage. The earthquake was assessed as the worst in this region over the last 200 years and massive international assistance will be required to help the country recover
In Haiti Median age is 21.4 years and of female is 21.6 years. Birth rate is 23.87 births per 1000 population .Sex ratio is at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female. Maternal mortality rate is 300 deaths/100,000 live births .Infant mortality rate is in female is 48.37 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth in Haiti is for female: 63.89 years. Total fertility rate is 2.98 children born per woman in haiti. HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate:1.9% Major infectious diseases: Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria Water contact disease: leptospirosis Children under the age of 5 years underweight:18.9%
