HAITI
Photo Credits: UN Stabilization Mission
On October 4, 2016 a Category 4 hurricane struck the already struggling island of Haiti invoking further devastation. The Haitian government officially issued a red alert requesting the assistance of the United Nations and its support mechanisms.
Haiti has been inundated with a series of natural disasters that include tropical storms in 2008 and a devastating earthquake in 2010 that continue to perpetuate long standing health crises in an already fragile state infrastructure. Cholera has been a longstanding epidemic in Haiti and is expected to resurge due to a lack of sanitation and the contamination of well water. More than 50% of global cases of cholera are in Haiti and already there are reports of increased cases and deaths from cholera over the past several days. In addition to cholera, other diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, Chikungunya, and Zika virus are prevalent and expected to worsen due to the impact of the hurricane.
From a reproductive health standpoint, Haiti is one of the more devastating countries in the world. The current maternal mortality rate (MMR) in Haiti is 359/100,000 and is 25 times higher than the United States at 14/100,000. Even the Dominican Republic, which shares the Eastern half of the island, has a much lower rate of maternal deaths. The Lifetime Maternal Death rate is 1:90. This means that 1 in every 90 baby girls born this year in Haiti will eventually die before the age of 50 of maternity related causes. It is estimated that only 39% of women in Haiti have a skilled birth attendant at their birth.
Midwife Pilgrim has been monitoring and assessing the situation closely by reaching out to our contacts on the ground to determine the immediate needs and how we can best support recovery. The current impact on the health sector has yet to be determined as rapid needs assessments are currently underway, however we have received requests from hard hit clinics and maternity centers for volunteer midwives to aid in the recovery as well as provide funds for equipment and supplies.
Our goal is to mount a quick response while ensuring we are able to access the areas within Haiti with the greatest need for support. There are several obstacles within Haiti that need to be navigated to ensure that our support and services reach the people. Following the earthquake in 2010, many NGOs and other organizations bypassed the Haitian government, resulting in a significant portion of funds falling into the hands of non-Haitians. The lack of appropriate funds distribution resulted in a severely hindered response to the crisis on the ground. This time NGOs and other organizations are working to move through the proper governmental channels to help alleviate past mistakes in disaster response in Haiti. Communication and logistic support is difficult to establish and we are working tirelessly to improve these aspects so we can purchase the equipment and supplies we need and deploy our team of midwives to high need areas on the island as quickly as possible.
Haiti has been inundated with a series of natural disasters that include tropical storms in 2008 and a devastating earthquake in 2010 that continue to perpetuate long standing health crises in an already fragile state infrastructure. Cholera has been a longstanding epidemic in Haiti and is expected to resurge due to a lack of sanitation and the contamination of well water. More than 50% of global cases of cholera are in Haiti and already there are reports of increased cases and deaths from cholera over the past several days. In addition to cholera, other diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, Chikungunya, and Zika virus are prevalent and expected to worsen due to the impact of the hurricane.
From a reproductive health standpoint, Haiti is one of the more devastating countries in the world. The current maternal mortality rate (MMR) in Haiti is 359/100,000 and is 25 times higher than the United States at 14/100,000. Even the Dominican Republic, which shares the Eastern half of the island, has a much lower rate of maternal deaths. The Lifetime Maternal Death rate is 1:90. This means that 1 in every 90 baby girls born this year in Haiti will eventually die before the age of 50 of maternity related causes. It is estimated that only 39% of women in Haiti have a skilled birth attendant at their birth.
Midwife Pilgrim has been monitoring and assessing the situation closely by reaching out to our contacts on the ground to determine the immediate needs and how we can best support recovery. The current impact on the health sector has yet to be determined as rapid needs assessments are currently underway, however we have received requests from hard hit clinics and maternity centers for volunteer midwives to aid in the recovery as well as provide funds for equipment and supplies.
Our goal is to mount a quick response while ensuring we are able to access the areas within Haiti with the greatest need for support. There are several obstacles within Haiti that need to be navigated to ensure that our support and services reach the people. Following the earthquake in 2010, many NGOs and other organizations bypassed the Haitian government, resulting in a significant portion of funds falling into the hands of non-Haitians. The lack of appropriate funds distribution resulted in a severely hindered response to the crisis on the ground. This time NGOs and other organizations are working to move through the proper governmental channels to help alleviate past mistakes in disaster response in Haiti. Communication and logistic support is difficult to establish and we are working tirelessly to improve these aspects so we can purchase the equipment and supplies we need and deploy our team of midwives to high need areas on the island as quickly as possible.
What can you do?
Midwife Pilgrim is raising funds to support our mission in Haiti. 100% of donations made specifically to Haiti will be applied to our programs there.
We need your help!
$2500 can sponsor a midwife
$1000 can supply a maternity center and field clinic
$150 will provide light to 10 families
$100 will provide basic birth supplies and equipment
$50 can provide clean water for 100 people
25 can provide life-saving medication
References:
http://www.who.int/gho/maternal_health/countries/hti.pdf
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MMR.RISK
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.MMRT
Donations made by check should be made payable to "Global Midwife Response" and sent to:
600 Elm Street, Montpelier VT 05602:
All donations are 100% tax-deductible as provided by law of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.