As well as offering medical support, the Haiti Hospital Appeal also provides health education, food distribution and vaccination programmes throughout the country.
‘Dr. Jasmin, the director of the Ministry of Health for the North, recently and publicly said of HHA, “they are truly good partners; they take on the biggest problems”; and that is certainly true.’
Nathan Nickerson RN, DrPH, Executive Directot – Konbit Sante
The Injustice:
Around 60% of Haitians had little or no access to adequate health care even before the earthquake in 2010. This lack of care has led to many treatable illnesses and diseases like malaria, diarrhea, and malnutrition causing a harrowingly high mortality rate, with Haiti having the highest rate of infant and maternal mortality in the western hemisphere. With an estimated 75% of Haitians living on less than $2US per day, even accessing basic primary health care can be a real struggle for many families, leading to more severe untreated illnesses which place families at great risk.
Our Response:
In 2007 we opened a community health centre which now provides 24/7 care to a number of communities in North Haiti, assisting patients with general care, specialist services, and emergency support.
In the aftermath of the earthquake in 2010, the centre provided 18,614 consultations to patients through out its different departments (not including HHA’s cholera response) and has continued to grow through out 2012. The centre is staffed with Haitian medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, and pharmacists, who a part of a team of over 125 staff supported through HHA programmes. Our heart is to equip, empower and envision a sustainable Haitian led hospital, built upon the capacity and passion of our national staff.
Aside from providing speciliast consultations including paediatric and maternity care, internal medicine, and emergency assistance, the clinic also supports the Haitian Ministry of Health, through the provision of life saving vaccines for a number of key illnesses/diseases in Haiti like diptheria and TB. Every month the centre also helps coordinate food distribution days in partnership with the World Food Programme, feeding up to 150 of the most at risk families.
