AMERICA/HAITI - Fontilles Anti-Leprosy Association launches Haiti, El Labirinto Campaign in aid of world’s second poorest country

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - “Haiti, El Labirinto” is the name of a campaign launched by Madrid based Fontilles Anti-Leprosy Association to increase awareness of the situation in Haiti, the world’s second poorest country where 80% of the population (700,000 people) live below the poverty line and where 80% of the people are Catholic.
The situation is made worse by the activity of armed gangs which close Haitians in a “labyrinth”: disease strikes the young population 40% under 15 years of age and life expectancy of 50 years.
Fontilles Campaign stresses the need for an integral plan to strengthen communities’ capacity to overcome difficulties and improve living conditions.
The programme which aims at health has been launched in the area close to the border with the Dominican Republic in the north east where the situation is even more dramatic because of migration.
In the future the programme will extend to Belladère, in the centre east, and Anse-à-Pitres, in the south east.
Fontilles Association, already active in other countries with situations of instability and violence such as Nepal and in extremely poor areas of India and Nicaragua, hopes to free Haitians from the labyrinth in which they are trapped. (AP) (3/7/2006 Agenzia Fides; Righe:23; Parole: 256)