FOCUS
Creating Economic Opportunities
Promoting Health and Fighting Disease

MDGs ADDRESSED
MDG 1: Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
MDG 4: Reduce child mortality
MDG 5: Improve maternal health
MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other disease
MDG 8: Create a global partnership for development

OVERVIEW
One-quarter of the Dominican Republic’s population lives in poverty.  The country suffers from significant income inequality—the poorest half of the population receives 20% of the income created in the country, while the wealthiest 10% gets almost half.  High unemployment and inflation makes earning a living and supporting a family very difficult in poorer communities.

Access to health care is limited in many rural areas of the country.  The Dominican Republic has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the Caribbean—with 32 infant deaths per 1,000 born.  Eleven percent of children under five are malnourished.  Yet such national averages do not reflect the even harsher realities in areas where poverty is concentrated.  In these areas, malnourished young children often die from preventable childhood diseases.  An estimated 40 out of 1,000 children do not live to see their 5th birthday.

Our PARTNER
Episcopal Relief and Development is developing a partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic, which has experienced tremendous growth over the past decade.  The diocese consists of 26 churches, 30 clergy, and 44 missions.  It operates 17 schools and two health care clinics.  Through the diocese, Episcopal Relief and Development is also partnering with an Episcopal medical clinic, Clinica Eseperanza y Caridad.

Our CURRENT PROGRAMS
Episcopal Relief and Development is in the process of developing a program in the Dominican Republic to create economic opportunities.  A large proportion of people who live in poverty are Haitian immigrants who have few resources.  Episcopal Relief and Development’s partnership will expand and improve the diocese’s current micro-finance program.  This program is directed toward women, both Haitian immigrants and Dominicans, and provides loans to start small businesses that increase family incomes and well-being. 

Episcopal Relief and Development is exploring several initiatives to promote health and fight disease throughout the Dominican Republic. One project would strengthen and expand the capacity of the Clinicia Esperanza located in the southeastern coastal town of San Pedro de Macoris. Episcopal Relief and Development’s support would be used to develop a training program where volunteers would learn how to conduct health education outreach activities focused on maternal and infant health as well as HIV/AIDS. Other health care initiatives under consideration include malaria testing in rural communities, with the potential for establishing a malaria prevention program.

Our PAST ACHIEVEMENTS
Episcopal Relief and Development has partnered with the Diocese of the Dominican Republic to reach victims of natural disasters and provide health care services and micro-finance programs to help struggling families in poor communities.  Our assistance included:

• Providing emergency supplies after heavy rains caused mudslides that killed nearly 500 people in the town of Jimani in the western part of the country in May 2004.
• Providing emergency supplies when Hurricanes Jeanne and Ivan displaced 10,000 people in 2004.
• Supporting a community health program to increase survival rates for children under five in the community of San Pedro de Macoris.