This short paper reports the results of a study undertaken to examine ‘Who are the Ultra Poor’ in the context of rural Haiti. The purpose was to undertake comparative analysis of the poverty status of participants in Fonkoze’s ultra poverty (CLM) programme with households identified as deprived and vulnerable according to the national poverty indicator.
The hypothesis was that the CLM programme participants, who benefit from participation in a programmatic approach known globally as the graduation model, are systematically from the poorest category within the national categories and are rightly identified as the ultra poor. The study utilised new data purposefully collected for this research which allowed a comparison, across over 1,000 households including 200 CLM participants in a new cohort.
The results testify to the ultra poverty of CLM households. They underline the importance of the graduation model in addressing poverty in Haiti and the case for its incorporation within the national social protection framework. The results have been widely shared but it is too early yet to assess the direction of the social protection agenda in Haiti.
Authors
