Health

Below is a post from "The Cable", confirming rumors that Paul Farmer is considering a position in the Obama Administration.  The position is as of yet unclear.  It may be USAID Administrator or a new position coordinating U.S. Global Health programs.  Partners in Health has had a tremendous impact in Haiti, Latin America, Africa, and elsewhere.  As a champion of health and human rights, Farmer's vision and expertise would be an asset to the Obama Administration.  

World TB Day was on March 24.  If this were a blog about HIV/AIDS, I could write about the progress that Haiti and the rest of the world is making.  However, this is a blog on tuberculosis and a fight we are losing.  More than two billion people, one third of the world’s total population, are infected with TB bacilli, the microbes that cause TB.  People living with HIV are at greater risk.  For Haiti, much more remains to be done.

The Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) is a non-profit, humanitarian organization created to meet the health and development needs of sugar cane workers, most of them Haitian, in the Dominican Republic.  BRA recently announced that they will expand operations into Haiti itself.  Given the interest of the Haitian and Dominican governments in cross-border collaboration, this is a timely expansion and we hope that it willl be a success.  The press release is below.

Each year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awards a single organzation one million dollars for its contributions to global health.  A list of this year's nominees can be found here.  Five of these nominees are organizations active in Haiti.  I am familiar with, and very much respect the work of, FOSREF, GHESKIO, and Partners in Health.  If you know of the other two organizations listed, please feel free to provide information in the comments section below.  Once the awardee has been selected, we will post it as well.  

The New York Times recently carried an article on the Carter Center's joint Haiti/Dominican Republic initiative to eliminate malaria and lymphatic filariasis from the island of Hispaniola, which both countries share. Given that infectious diseases do not respect borders, this initiative seems an excellent opportunity for collaboration between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.  Hopefully, it can open doors for much needed collaboration in other areas as well. 

The United States Institute of Peace is a nonpartisan, independent think tank (or at least as independent as possible given that it was established and funded by Congress.) Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent international conflicts, promote post-conflict stability and development, and increase conflict management capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide.  The Institute has a Haiti Working Group, which meets monthly and is open to anyone interested in Haiti.  The Group periodically publishes papers or organizes Haiti related events. Last week, the Working Group held a panel called The End of Poverty in Haiti.

Scott Schachter sent in the following blog about Doctors without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - an independent, international medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid in more than 60 countries including Haiti, where it has operated since 1991. Doctors Without Borders is actively involved in recovery operations in Gonaives.  The organization is competing for one million dollars in the Trip Advisor Challenge.  You can cast your vote by clicking here.  Read on or visit the Doctors Without Borders Website to learn more.

Project Medishare has been operating on Haiti's Central Plateau since 1995.  Working with community groups, the Haitian Ministry of Health, Partners in Health, and the Green Family Foundation, Project Medishare has dramatically improved the health infrastructure of Thomonde and sorrounding areas.  Construction is proceeding on their latest and most innovative project - a Nutrition Training Complex with three components: (1) An AK-1000 processing facility; (2) A treatment center for malnourished children; and (3) An education and training center.  This community-driven approach will promote children's health and bolster the local ecomomy at the same time.

The Maine based Konbit Sante group continues to make a difference in Northern Haiti by investing in the human and physical infrastructure that the Hospital Justinien needs to become the hospital that Cap Haitian deserves.  In recognition of their efforts, Konbit Sante was recently awarded a $30,000 grant from the Dorthea Ross Haus Foundation to build a pediatric emergency room at Justinian Hospital. The project, which is expected to take six months to complete, will also help improve water and sanitation in the pediatric facility.