Sociologist Michèle Oriol has raised the alarm regarding a public health danger threatening the population of the country’s second-largest city, specifically due to the construction of latrines. “Cap-Haïtien is a health time bomb,” stated Michèle Oriol, explaining that the water table is located only about half a meter below the surface, which historically led municipal authorities to ban the construction of latrines in the city.
“In latrines, excrement is discharged directly into the groundwater, and the water circulates. This risks contaminating drinking water networks,” warned Mrs. Oriol during her appearance on Magik9’s morning show on Monday, May 4, 2026.
According to Mrs. Oriol, the failure to comply with this measure exposes the population to serious health risks such as skin diseases or other infectious diseases like cholera. “This decision to ban latrine construction, which appeared to be an urban planning measure, is in reality a public health measure,” Michèle Oriol emphasized. However, due to the urban sprawl of Cap-Haïtien and the demographic boom the city is experiencing because of insecurity in the West and Artibonite departments, a lack of enforcement is being observed, she indicated.
“We are talking about a population of approximately 400,000 inhabitants. There are things that a political authority cannot tolerate, especially since the city of Cap-Haïtien is Haiti’s only remaining gateway to the outside world,” declared Michèle Oriol, pointing directly to the responsibility of Cap-Haïtien’s municipal authorities in sanitary management.
