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El Salvador

• Disaster Response And Preparedness
• Health

El Salvador

Country Profile/Quick Facts

El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated nation in Central America. The country continues to experience the after effects of a 12-year civil war that ended in 1992, when the government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for military and political reforms. The war cost the lives of 75,000 people and was the primary cause of
El Salvador's decreased development in the 1980s and early 1990s. As the country strives to achieve political, economic and social progress, 71% of El Salvador's population still lives in extreme poverty. High population growth, restricted land ownership and limited productive land have led to high unemployment levels among the largely rural population.

El Salvador is very vulnerable to hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and the environmental impact resulting from the destruction of 98% of its forests.

When Hurricane Mitch swept through Central America in 1998, it affected more than 84,000 Salvadorans and caused an estimated $474 million worth of damage to agriculture and livestock.

Red Cross representatives meet with people affected by the 2001 earthquake.

In 2001, two massive earthquakes struck the country, leaving 726 people dead, more than 4,400 injured, over 70,000 houses destroyed and 180,000 damaged.

Within two days of the first quake, two aircraft transported 30 metric tons of relief supplies, including water purification equipment, plastic sheeting, blankets, shovels and first aid kits, from Canada to El Salvador. The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) jointly funded this shipment. The Salvadoran Red Cross distributed the supplies throughout the affected area.

Following the earthquakes, the Canadian public responded generously by donating over $2 million to the CRC fundraising appeal in support of relief and rehabilitation programs in El Salvador. CIDA also contributed $450,000 to the relief efforts. Since the earthquake, CRC has also sent several relief workers specializing in logistics, communications and program development to the region.

As part of the plan for long-term rehabilitation, CRC is supporting a primary health care program in partnership with the Salvadoran Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The program will be delivered through Red Cross branches in the communities of Armenia and Izalco, situated in the department of Sonsonate in western El Salvador. It aims to strengthen the health care system that has struggled to recover since the civil war and has been further destabilized by the earthquakes.

Quick Facts Capital: San Salvador Population: 7 million Adult Literacy: 78.3% Age structure: 0-14 years: 37.6%, 65 years and over: 5% Infant Mortality Rate: 35 deaths per 1,000 live births Language: Spanish