The present emergency status of the Haiti health disaster
Ten years after the devastating earthquake killed thousands of people, displaced a countless number of residents, and destroyed more than 60% of Haiti’s health system, the nation’s health system has since been dysfunctional. The severe health catastrophe is overwhelming, causing an inflated sickness rate and consistent untimely death records.
Throughout the Americas, Haiti holds the highest record in infant and maternal mortality, the most severe malnutrition cases and AIDS situation since a long time ago. According to statistics, the mortality rate per 100,000 population is 1857. In addition, one out of four children suffers from chronic malnutrition. More than 15% of newborn babies have a low birth weight. Half of the death recorded for children under age 5 was as a result of critical respiratory infections and diarrhoeas.
Many children could not survive birth, and many developed one disability or the other due to complications during birth. One out of every four children suffers delivery complications. There is a shortage of medical facilities, and the coverage of medical services is very low. Only a few out of the millions have access to medical services at the point of need. 40% of the Haiti population cannot access basic health care.
There’s also a shortage of qualified and experienced medical practitioners. 76% of the child deliveries are done by non-qualified medical personnel. There’s a shortage of drugs in the remaining less functioning medical facilities. More than half of the population cannot afford to buy drugs from private owned medical centers, and there are limited drugs in the government-owned medical centers to serve the large population of the country. Many children develop critical health issues right from their infanthood because only a few are vaccinated at the right time.
Sadly, aside from the natural disasters that brought massive destruction on the entire health system of the nation, the economic plights and political tensions have also contributed to the intensity of the worst health situation. Most medical facilities in Haiti lacks the medical supplies and expertise to serve the urgent needs of the patients.
In the face of economic meltdown and political conflicts, medical facilities are struggling to function in the normal health standard. For instance, the change in fuel prices announced in July 2018 resulted into crisis, making medical facilities to struggle in providing basic services while facing the challenge of shortages of drugs, blood, oxygen, fuel, and even qualified staff.
In 2019, the nationwide shutdown ‘peyi lok’ was an injurious occurrence to the Haiti health system. Angry residents blocked many streets by barricades made of burning tires, and even walls which did not allow a free movement of health care workers, medical supplies, patients and even ambulances.
Some highlights of the critical factors affecting the Haiti health sector and our response to solving the problems.
1. Lack of neutrality and immunity health institutions’. Hospitals and other medical centers are part of the major target whenever violence occur in any part of the nation. In most cases, the safety of health workers are threatened, and many stay behind at home for fear of violence. This has been one crucial reason for the shortage of medical practitioners in most medical facilities. Many Also, the violent acts have led to the destruction of most of the drugs in several medical centers leading to a shortage of drugs and other medical supplies.
2. Supply difficulties in health institutions. Due to the economic instability in the nation, there’s a limitation in drugs, water, medical-surgical consumables, propane gas, diesel and other necessities of an ideal medical centers. As a result, there’s poor emergency care and other essential services in most medical centers.
3. Lack of equipment and human resources. Many hospitals are incapacitated in carrying out their duties due to the lack of equipment and human resources. Most of the functioning heal centers and hospitals around are privately owned and very expensive for the financially needy.
4. Increase in emergencies as a result of violence. The increased cases of injuries caused by the violence made emergency service care more complicated. There are several reports of unattended emergencies cases because of the increased injury rates and decreased qualified medical personnel.
5. Focalization of the media on the crisis. The mass media seem to focus more on the political report at the expense of other categories of information. Health-related information in support of disease prevention and control programs is less apparent in the media.
6. Deterioration of the potable water installations. In terms of building, most hospitals and medical centers are not fit for operation. Since the mass destruction of many medical facilities, most of the hospitals have been in a very bad condition, badly maintained buildings with decrepit water installations.
7. Lack of precise information. The health crisis of the nation is not properly documented because of the failing health information system. This lack of precise information is one of the major obstacles the adequate response to the rising health needs.
Our efforts in saving Haiti and the world so far
In response to save Haiti from the prevailing devastating health problems, The Illuminating Lives Foundation has launched a new health program with new initiatives to care for patients while the Haitian medical system is still struggling to cope. Presently, we are visiting different neighborhoods with a massive supply of drugs and qualified and experienced medical practitioners to conduct free medical tests for all kinds of sickness and diseases including HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, cholera. Opportunistic infections, rabies, lymphatic filariasis, dengue, diabetes, high blood pressure, and more. We also organize training to enlighten people on health-related matters such as sanitation, personal hygiene practices, child and maternal health, reproductive health, and more.
Aside from the free medical tests, we provide instant treatment to people suffering from diverse health conditions. Constantly, our health program outings have always received an overwhelming number of patients who cannot access public medical facilities and cannot afford the private hospitals. Also, we have helped in treating many people suffering from life-threatening injuries and sicknesses.
With the assistance of our donors all around the world, we have donated several medical equipment and materials to several medical centers in different neighborhoods to help facilitate better health services in the nation. Over the past years, we have worked hand-in-hand with distinguished health professionals in response to severe health emergencies through the donations and supports from our kind donors.
We are aware of the present situation of the Haiti health system, and we know we are here to attend to serious and urgent cases. The health situation of the country is worse than imagined; hence, we are striving to help build a healthy nation that is confident in the future. Other areas where we help include constant disseminating of the information about the Haiti health crisis to raise donations and support for the country’s health sector, installation of the water system for medical facilities, constant supply of drugs, and much more.
