Many people in Haiti still lack access to emergency care, two years after the devastating earthquake.
Since the quake Médecins Sans Frontières MSF (Doctors Without Borders) has built four hospitals – all operating free of charge for patients. One third of all cholera cases in Haiti were treated by MSF.
We have 2,000 staff in Haiti working round the clock to provide the medical care people need.
People still lack healthcare
MSF hospital in Leogane
© Yann Libessart
Soon after the earthquake, major pledges to rebuild Haiti were made.
However, two years later the reconstruction needs of the healthcare system in Haiti remain immense.
Most Haitians continue to face great difficulties in accessing healthcare.
Reconstructing healthcare systems takes time and money, and qualified medical personal and medical infrastructure are in short supply.
MSF response
MSF has responded to the lack of healthcare in the two years that followed the earthquake by:
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building four emergency hospitals in the area affected by the quake, serving over two million people.
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treating around a third of cholera patients during the 2010 outbreak.
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being prepared and ready in the event of future cholera outbreaks.
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supporting a Ministry of Health hospital in the Cité-Soleil slum.
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managing 600 hospital beds, shared over five facilities.
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employing 2,000 personnel, 90 percent of whom are Haitian.
All MSF centres are open 24 hours a day. All treatments are free.
The four new MSF hospitals are in parts of Haiti where people's needs are great. They also address specific health issues.
Childbirth
Mother and baby in MSF's emergency obstetric center, in the Delmas 33 area of Port au Prince
© Yann Libessart /MSF
Haiti has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the Americas.
Last April, MSF opened a 130-bed referral center for obstetric emergencies, in Port-au-Prince’s Delmas 33 neighbourhood, to assist women who have complications during their preganancy, which threaten their life, or that of their baby.
Since the centre opened, medical personnel have performed 1,432 operations and assisted in the birth of over 4,600 babies.
One of the newborns was Esther, whose mother, Belgarde, says: "I lost my first three children right away after giving birth,
"The last one was premature, too, but thanks to the care she's received here, I am hopeful that I'll be able to take her home soon."
From tents to concrete
After the earthquake a temporary, inflatable tent hospital was set up on the sports field of the Saint-Louis de Gonzague School in northern Port au Prince.
On 9th May 2011 the new 208-bed Drouillard hospital was opened to replace the temporary hospital.
Its teams:
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deal with medical and surgical emergencies.
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treat major burn cases.
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provide physical therapy.
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provide mental health follow-up care.
On average, 55 new patients are treated and 20 surgeries are performed every day.
Psychological vulnerability
"The earthquake is no longer responsible for the cases we see today, which have to do primarily with road or household accidents and with violence," says medical director Félix Konan-Kouassi.
"On the other hand, we do observe increased psychological vulnerability since the disaster.
"Patients find it more difficult to bear up under additional trauma, such as an attack or an accident."
The only hospital in Léogâne
MSF's hospital in Léogâne © Yann Libessart/MSF
Nearly 80 percent of Léogâne, a city to the west of the capital, was destroyed by the earthquake.
Chatuley Hospital, in Léogâne, was initially a temporary installation, set up in response to the 2010 quake. The hospital now operates out of containers that house 160 beds.
It remains the immediate region's only hospital, treating emergencies and providing obstetric and gynaecological care and pediatric care.
In 2011 the medical staff:
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treated 73,741 patients.
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performed 3,755 operations.
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assisted at 4,501 births.
Hope
Lastly, in the industrial area of Tabarre, east of Port-au-Prince, construction teams are putting the final touches on the Nap Kenbe – “hope" in Creole – center, which is scheduled to open in February 2012, as an additional resource for Haitians who need free medical care.
Containing 108 beds, it will provide emergency trauma and abdominal surgery, with a focus on treating children.
MSF is also continuing to provide care at a referral and emergency center in Martissant, which opened in late 2006 and treats an average of 4,370 patients each month.
People still at risk
While MSF is striving to address a deficit in health care we also has to remain alert to potential new emergencies such as cholera, which remains a risk.
The cholera outbreak in October 2010 affected more than half a million patients, MSF treated around a third of them, deploying 4,000 staff at the height of the crisis.
"Hundreds of thousands of people still live under terrible conditions in makeshift camps," says MSF's medical coordinator, Wendy Lai.
"Access to drinking water and sanitation is very limited throughout the entire country, particularly in rural and remote areas.
"This situation promotes the spread of infectious disease.
"While the number of new cases of cholera has fallen considerably, we still see several hundred each week and the risk of seasonal resurgence remains very high.
"We must remain extremely vigilant."
Rebuilding healthcare
Working on the water and sanitation installation outside MSF's Tabarre surgical centre.
© Halimatou Amadou/MSF
"Much of the capital's healthcare infrastructure disappeared on 12th January, 2010 – and it was limited and not even fully operational prior to that date," says Gérard Bedock, MSF's head of mission in Haiti.
"The earthquake revealed and exacerbated the shortcomings of Haiti's healthcare system.
"It will take a long time to rebuild.
"In the meantime, we are working to fill the healthcare gaps to the extent possible, while responding to potential new emergencies, such as cholera."
Funding
MSF has spent twice as much money in Haiti than was raised in our emergency campaign.
In the two years following the quake MSF has recieved 115 million US dollars in fundraising and spent 237 million US dollars.
The 2010 cholera outbreak was an unexpected expense and the lack of healthcare provision in Haiti is enormous.
Much work remains to be done. MSF are committed to helping the people of Haiti which we are able to do thanks to the generosity of our supporters unrestricted donations.
If you would like to help us help Haiti please consider making a donation to MSF.
MSF launched its first projects in Haiti in 1991, carrying out emergency programmes during natural disasters and crisis situations.
Earthquake aftermath
Tuesday 12th January 2010 will forever remain engraved in Haiti's collective memory.
Nearly everyone in the country lost a relative, friend or neighbour in the earthquake that hit that day, and many survivors continue to suffer physical or psychological after-effects.
The piles of rubble and gaping holes in the streets of Port-au-Prince show that the city's infrastructure still bears the physical scars.
MSF affected
Médecins Sans Frontières MSF (Doctors Without Borders) had been working in Haiti before the disaster and sadly lost 12 staff members that day.
Two MSF hospitals – the La Trinité trauma center and the Solidarité obstetric and gynaelogical clinic – were destroyed.
MSF immediately deployed its emergency response to the earthquake as supplies and staff were already present in Haiti. MSF also rapidly responded to a cholera out-break in October 2010
Earthquake response
Immediately following the earthquake, MSF undertook the largest emergency intervention in its history:
Between January 12th and October 2010 MSF
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treated 358,000 people
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performed 16,570 operations
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assisted at 15,100 births
Cholera epidemic
In late October 2010 a major cholera epidemic struck Haiti.
More than 500,000/half a million cases of cholera were recorded in the country.
MSF set up operations on an unprecedented scale.
At the height of the crisis, some 4,000 health care providers were working at more than 75 facilities in Haiti.
Nearly 170,000 patients with cholera symptoms were treated between October 2010 and November 2011.
MSF has a large-scale emergency preparation and rapid treatment plan in place in case of another widespread outbreak.