The EDID-GHDI Haiti team has published an EDID-GHDI working paper in French on statistics on disability in Haiti.
In the context of a 4th-year course at the University of Ottawa, titled Justice, intersectionnalité et développement, Anne-Karen Boussin (a student of Stephen Baranyi, co-lead of the Haiti country team) produced a report presenting and analyzing stats on disability in Haiti, based on the Disability Data Initiative (DDI). They were supported by Sophie Mitra, principal investigator at DDI and a professor of economics at Fordham University in New York City. The report was presented at an online workshop for the Haitian partners on July 30, 2026.
DDI statistics show that people with disabilities in Haiti face widespread and systematic inequalities across nearly every area measured, especially education, multidimensional poverty, access to mobile phones, sanitation, and drinking water. The data also reveal strong intersectional patterns: women, older persons, rural residents, and people living in disadvantaged regions experience the most severe exclusion, with disabled women and rural residents among the most vulnerable groups. Disability prevalence rises sharply with age, women report higher prevalence than men, and rural disabled people face extremely high levels of multidimensional poverty and more limited access to basic services.
The report argues that these findings are especially troubling because Haiti has not produced sufficient up-to-date national disability data, leaving foreign-managed datasets like DDI as the main source of evidence. Since the data come from 2016–2017, the current situation may be even worse given Haiti’s current crises, but the lack of updated statistics makes it difficult to assess deterioration or to mobilize resources effectively. The authors therefore call on a future elected Haitian government to complete a national census using standardized disability questions, update its reporting to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and consult closely with organizations of persons with disabilities and women with disabilities in those processes.
Overall, the report concludes that better data, stronger state accountability, and sustained civil society advocacy are essential to addressing the deep and overlapping inequalities faced by disabled people in Haiti.
Read the EDID-GHDI Working Paper:
Boussin, A. K. (2026). Qu’est-ce-que les statistiques de la Disability Data Initiative révèlent au sujet des (diverses) personnes handicapées en Haïti ? [Working paper]. EDID-GHDI, University of Guelph. [in French with English Executive Summary]