Haiti

The island of Hispaniola has accounted for approximately 90% of the lymphatic filariasis burden in the Western Hemisphere.  

Our Work and Methods

The Center’s Hispaniola Initiative, established in 2008, has worked with ministries of health in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic to strengthen binational cooperation and provide assistance to eliminate the disease. This has included: 

• Support for mass drug administration to interrupt transmission 
• Integrated disease surveys 
• Training for health staff  

Impacts

86% of the country’s districts have met the criteria to stop mass drug administration for the disease. 

Malaria is more pervasive in Haiti than in its neighbor, the Dominican Republic. 

Our Work and Methods

Since 2008, the Center’s Hispaniola Initiative — a cross-border project — has helped both countries by bringing together ministries of health to foster binational coordination for malaria control. This has included integrated activities, synchronized data systems, binational meetings, distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets, and aligned protocols for malaria diagnostics and treatment.   

Impacts

• Malaria declined from more than 84,000 cases in 2010 to more than 38,000 confirmed cases in 2024, a decrease of more than 54%. 

Neglected tropical diseases impact millions of people worldwide, not only physically, but also through stigma, isolation, and depression. In Haiti, where lymphatic filariasis remains widespread, these challenges weigh heavily on individuals, families, and communities. 

Our Work and Methods

The Carter Center’s Global Mental Health team, along with the Center’s program to eliminate lymphatic filariasis on Hispaniola, piloted the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program in local “Hope Clubs” in Léogâne. These community support groups, founded by people living with disease themselves, provided a safe space to introduce practical skills for self-care, emotional resilience, and peer encouragement. 

This pilot marked one of the first times a self-management program — proven effective for conditions like diabetes and arthritis — was adapted for neglected tropical diseases. The initiative showed how mental health support can be embedded directly into existing community-led care, offering both dignity and hope. 

Impacts

• Inspired expanded training for health workers in other countries, such as in Nigeria and Liberia. 
• Shared at leading global forums on neglected tropical diseases, including the Neglected Tropical Disease NGO Network and the World Health Organization. 
• Continues to inform collaborative efforts with international partners to better integrate mental health into neglected tropical disease care. 

The Carter Center has for years supported the people of Haiti in their democratic vision for their country. In 1990, we monitored Haiti’s first credible election in history. When a coup ousted the winning candidate, the Center assisted the international community in efforts to restore constitutional government, paving the way for the restoration of Jean-Bertrand Aristide as president. We returned to observe the 1995 elections and continued to strengthen Haiti’s democratic institutions into the 2000s. 

More information about all of these elections is available in our publications section. 

Although Latin America and the Caribbean spend relatively less on defense than most regions, concern about an arms race in Latin America prompted the Carter Center’s Council of Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Americas to urge governments to pause before embarking on major arms purchases. A two-year moratorium on purchasing sophisticated weapons was signed in the late 90s by current and former heads of government, including Haiti President René Preval.