Health

As Haiti's largest city, what happens in Port-au-Prince impacts the whole country - including hospitals which are unable to acquire fuel for their generators.  Hospitals with solar power have been better able to cope.  Konbit Sante helped the Hopital Convention Baptiste d’Haiti (HCBH) in Cap Haitien purchase solar panels which, in this sunny country, ensures at least some power is available. Below is an update from Konbit Sante on the situation in Cap Haitien.  Updates from NGOs outside Port-au-Prince remind us that Haiti's struggles are nationwide.  

Haiti has many surnames including "Poorest Country in the Western Hemisphere", "Republic of 10,000 NGOs, and "at a Crossroads".  For all is beauty and potential, it remains held back by poor governance, political intsability, and crushing poverty.  It's a hard narrative to change when most of the coverage is of flawed elections (or no elections), power struggles, and protests.  If the Haitian government truly wants to change how it is viewed it needs to show that it cares about and invests in its own people.  The Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends starting with COVID vaccination - which has not yet taken place.  It would be a start.  

More than 850,000 Haitians have been infected with Cholera and 10,000 have died from it since being introduced by United Nations (UN) peacekeepers ten years ago.  There has been no compensation provided by the UN and its member states.  When the United Nations accepts no accountability for actions, it its less able to demand accountability from others.  While the UN has at times been benefical to Haiti, its unwillingess to right the wrongs of its peacekeeping forces, from sexual abuse and exploitation to cholera, undermine these efforts. The full article by Miami Herald journalist Jacqueline Charles follows.  

Below is an article by Miami Herald journalist Jacqueline Charles about Haiti's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the University Hospital of Mirebalais which plays a central role in it.  The University Hospital is one of the few hospitals with the capacity to stabilise patients with COVID-19 and to provide these services free of charge.  The Hospital staff are preparing for a potential surge in cases which could be caused by Haitians returning from the Dominican Republic due to lost livelihoods, the near impossibility of social distancing, and a health care system that was fragile even prior to the pandemic.  If you are looking for a way to help Haiti as it responds to the pandemic, consider a donation to Partners in Health which manages the University Hospital and remains the largest non-profit health care provider in the country.  

Below is a PRI article about the Petrochallengers - a (mostly) younger generation of activists who, rather than just changing heads of state, want to reform the underlying systems that prevent accountability, transparency, and justice.  Corruption is so pervasive in Haiti that it is all too easy to become numb to it - but the misuse/outright theft of over a billion dollars in PetroCaribe funds was the last straw .  These funds could have produced the roads, hospitals, schools, and environmental programming Haiti needed to get back on the right track.  Without bringing those responsible to account, it remains business as usual.  While they may not think of themselves as revolutionaries, bringing about a government that invests in its own people would be nothing short of revolutionary.   

While protests are nothing new in haiti, the scale of the ongoing demonstrations againt corruption and economic hardship are the largest in recent memory.   Unfortunately, the instability is negatively affecting operations at hospitals.  Even prior to the protests, many Haitian health care facilities lacked the medicines and equipment necessary to treat the sick.  It doesn't have to be like this and protestors understand that there will not be a better future until corruption is brought under control.  Below is recent article by CNN writer Sam Kiley about the impact on on health care facilities, staff, and patients. 

Below is an article from the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Haiti. While Haiti is one of only four countries in the Americas where LF is found, progress is being made toward elimination.  Many partners are working together to that end including the Haitian Ministry of Health, the CDC, USAID, IMA World Health, the University of Notre Dame, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  More information follows.    

Three years ago, Partners in Health (Zanmi Lasante) and the Haitian Ministry of Health opened a major research, training, and practice hospital in Mirebalais.  As part of this complex, Zanmi Lasante is opening a new reference laboratory.  What this means for patients is a quicker diagnosis, better treatment, and more positive health outcomes.  Learn more about Partners in Health's work in Haiti here.  

Hesperian has released a wide variety of free health guides including "Where There is No Doctor" or what Peace Corps volunteers with too much time on their hands to analyze their maladies call "Where There is a Hypochondriac."  Their latest guide on understanding and preventing Zika is available in English, Portugese, French, and Haitian Kreyol.  The guide is will be updated on a regular basis.  More information about Hesperian and ways to support them below.  

Below is a Miami Herald article by Patrick Riley concerning the recent passing of Marie Chery.  I was fortunate to be able to work with her as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thomonde.  Marie was a good nurse, a model humanitarian, a strong community leader, and an excellent human being.  She died too early but, thanks to her, many more people have access to health care than they would otherwise.  Marie will be missed.  A good way to remember her would be through donations to organizations that support health care in Haiti.