United Nations denounces alarming poverty levels in hotel-peppered Dominican province

from The Dominican Today

Santo Domingo.- The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) disclosed today that poverty rages at a 68.9 percent among inhabitants of the Dominican eastern province of El Seybo, affecting 70.2 percent of homes there.

According to a recent report elaborated by local representatives of the UN program, 21 percent of the total population in this eastern region lives in extreme poverty, most noticeably because this zone is marked by exclusive tourism enclaves located in Punta Cana and Bavaro.

In El Seybo’s rural sector, poverty levels reach the most alarming figure of 82.2 percent among the people there and 84.3 percent of homes. In the urban zone, the percentage is 46.3 and 44.5, respectively among people and homes.

The UNDP states in the study that unemployment is at 55.41 percent, and identifies that 24% of the men are affected, while 76 percent of women are jobless.

Delinquency is at 17.3 percent; prostitution, at 13.0 percent; drug addiction is estimated at 26.5 percent – that is, one of every four individuals in the province.

The entity also determined that 45 percent of the population in this area lacks energy supply, while 58 percent does not have tap water or garbage collection services.