Haiti’s Health Workers: Finding Resilience In Disasters
The resilience of the Haitian people was tested once again recently when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck near the northwestern city of Port-au-Paix on Oct. 6, killing at least 14 people and injuring 200 others.
As Project HOPE’s Country representative in Haiti and a medical doctor, I was quickly notified about the disaster. Together with our Emergency Response experts at HOPE headquarters in Virginia, we began reaching out to officials and health facilities in the affected area to determine the extent of the damage and health needs that would likely arise.
My heart goes out to the Haitian people once again, who have had to cope with so much since the 2010 earthquake. The sense of fear has never truly left many Haitians, and with each earthquake comes the fear of aftershocks.
One day after the earthquake, the people of northern Haiti were struck by a 5.2 magnitude aftershock. The government had already declared a state of emergency and appealed for international aid for survivors and to help hospitals damaged by the disaster. Our team travelled to affected areas in and around Port-au-Paix to visually assess damage to infrastructure and health facilities. We treated dozens of patients, including children, who suffered from gastrointestinal diseases, anxiety and hypertension, We also treated patients with arthritis.
With each earthquake or hurricane that has struck Haiti since the devastating earthquake of 2010, which claimed an estimated 250,000 lives, we are reminded of the strength of the people of Haiti as they fight back after disaster – and the importance of their connection to NGOs like Project HOPE. Within hours we were preparing to deploy a team of doctors and nurses to bring emergency kits to affected areas in the north of Haiti. The kits contained basic supplies such as bandages, medications for pain management and antibiotics. The facilities that received the kits lacked supplies to cope with the aftermath of the earthquake – the largest of its kind since 2010.
My heart goes out to the Haitian people once again, who have had to cope with so much since the 2010 earthquake. The sense of fear has never truly left many Haitians, and with each earthquake comes the fear of aftershocks.
Project HOPE has responded to almost every major disaster worldwide since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. We specialize in building long-term capacity after the initial shock of man-made or natural disasters has passed, as we did in Haiti and beyond, including Puerto Rico, Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Project HOPE has left a rich legacy of health infrastructure around the world, helping establish hospitals and clinics, train health care professional and assess needs in locations from China to the Dominican Republic. Above all else, I have seen firsthand that empowering health care workers to teach and deliver solutions to local communities in times of crisis – or any other – saves lives.