After being hit by tropical storm Fay and hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, and Ike, all within a month of each other, many in Haiti were left with nothing. Over 300 deaths have been announced, and more are missing. The northern coast was especially hard-hit, and international relief efforts have been concentrated on the city of Gonaives and its environs. Although supplies are being provided, Haitians lost infrastructure like roads that is necessary to deliver them, and isolated pockets of the rural poor have been unable to access much of the aid. Clean drinking water is scarce, with most sources contaminated by bodies and debris, and entire food supplies have been ruined or lost in the storms. The United States plans to funnel more than $20 million worth of aid into Haiti, and other countries will also be providing about $107 million in money, supplies, and relief workers. Even before the storms Haiti was the least well-off country in the Western hemisphere economically, and these natural disasters have only widened the gap. Leaders are talking about the necessity of rebuilding with future storms in mind to prevent a tragedy on this scale from happening again.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/09/05/haiti.aid/index.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/world/americas/11haiti.html?ref=americas

Following military rule from 1991-1994, Haiti was not able to organize decisive elections, with fraud, violence, boycotts, and political infighting preventing the selection of a widely accepted government. Haiti has since developed a multiparty democratic system with elections that have been deemed free and fair. Since 2004, the UN has kept a Stability Mission in Haiti to provide support to the government.