MSF

Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) works in difficult and insecure environments around the world, including Port-au-Prince.  Over half the city is controlled by gangs and fighting amongst them has caused MSF to temporarily close its maternity hospital.  Many health care facilities throughout Haiti have been negatively impacted by insecurity - to the detriment of their patients who need their services more than ever.  The full Al Jazeera article follows. 

Insecurity in Port au Prince and beyond continues to negatively impact the economy, health care, and other basic services throughout the country.  MSF/Doctors Without Borders, which operates in insecure environments around the world, has temporarily shut down a second time.  Due to lack of fuel, clinics are suspending operations - this at a time, when cholera cases are increasing.  The UN is calling for a humanitarian corridor through which both fuel and aid workers can transit safely.  It wouldn't solve the fundamental problems but it would at least reduce the severity fo the current situation.  The full article article by Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald follows. 

Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF, has released a report on sexual violence in Haiti. Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a human rights and a public health issue as it can cause mental trauma, unwanted pregnancies, and transmission of HIV and sexually transmitted infections.  Stigma remains intense in Haiti due to lack of access to justice and survivor-centered health care.  In 2015, MSF opened a clinic in Port-au-Prince that specializes in providing health and psychological support to GBV survivors.  Take a look at the report (available in English and French with summary below), and if you would like to support MSF, you can do so here. 

In collaboration with Doctors Without Borders (French acronym: MSF), photojournalist Benedicte Kurzen took a series of photos with sexual assault survivors in Port au Prince. The intent of the project was to emphasize their resilience, raise awareness and promote dialogue around an important but stigmatized issue in Haiti.  To learn more about gender-based violence and other human rights issues, take a look at the U.S State Department's 2015 Human Rights Report for Haiti. Stay informed about MSF's work in Haiti, consider supporting them financially, and follow Kurzen on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.  

Plumpynut, a peanut based paste, has revolutionalized the way in which severely malnourished children around the world are treated.  Many young lives have been saved as a result.  There is now increasing attention on how Plumpynut variants can prevent children from becoming malnourished in the first place.  In Haiti, both Meds and Food for Kids (MFK) and Partners in Health (PIH) produce products similar to Plumpynut.  In the below New York Times article, Andrew Rice describes the promise, politics, and profitability of Plumpynut.  Considering the negative impact that malnutrition has on the health and cognitive development of children in Haiti, it is well worth a read.