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PUBLIC HEALTH CLINICS

Nearly half the population is chronically undernourished. Healthy life expectancy at birth is only 43 years. Of every thousand children born in Haiti, 139 die before reaching the age of 5, in stark contrast with nearby Cuba where the rate is only 7.5 deaths for every 1,000 live births. The leading causes of child mortality are diarrheal diseases, acute respiratory infections, and malnutrition. Acute respiratory infections and diarrheas cause half of the deaths in children fewer than five years of age. Only half of the child population is vaccinated.

Hospitals need to be available to care for trauma victims, surgical patients, and other acute care needs.  The availability of public health clinics in every community in Haiti, as planned by the government and many humanitarian agencies, would help alleviate many of the health problems in Haiti, provide immunizations and preventive care for children and adults, and would relieve the burden on hospitals by providing urgent care and ongoing treatment for the community’s residents. It is imperative to have modern public health clinics in others cities, urban area and villages to provide medical service to the population, especially where there are no hospitals or health care facilities. Violence and limited resources have often left hospitals and clinics without staff or supplies.  Families will transport their loved ones for miles to the limited facilities available, but treatment and medications are often not sufficient. Without government or private insurance programs, health care fees are often beyond the means of most people in Haiti.  Therefore, our goal is to establish and operate a modern public health clinic in every village, city and urban area.