Health

Haiti Air Ambulance Service Inc. (HAASI) made an announcement to the media it has partnered with Air Methods Corporation (AMC), a supplier of air transport medical services, to offer transportation services from rural hospitals in Haiti's hinterlands to metro acute-care facilities. This is good news for Haiti's Emergency Medical Services sector, which can anticipate critical events will receive air transport services at the scene.

AMC will supply two state-of-the-art Bell 407 helicopters, staffed with three pilots and two mechanics. They will augment HAASI's emergency medical technicians, trained in air transport procedures.

HAASI, a New York non-profit, has been on a humanitarian mission to deliver beneficial healthcare services to Haiti's poorer residents. The problem AMC CEO, Aaron Todd, says that afflicts Haiti is "Patients with survivable injuries . . . too often die because of lack of trauma care in remote parts of the country . . ." He adds deteriorated roads form the nexus of the problem.

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In the wake of Haiti's devastating 2010 quake, a widespread cholera epidemic broke out on the island. To date 682,753 cases have been recorded. The source of the virus has been traced back to Nepali soldiers, part of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Haiti for over a decade.

The Nepalese Army refutes the charges, saying their soldiers are routinely vaccinated before being deployed overseas. But Yale Law School's Global Health Justice Partnership (GHJP), in a released 2013 report, states ". . . the cholera strain in Haiti has been scientically linked to a single origin in Nepal." The GHJP report wants the UN, who should have made certain soldiers were vaccinated, make a public apology to the Haitian population, who have suffered the terrible effects of the deadly virus.

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The occasion of the 1st of December was considered a day for hope, commonality and commitment between all Haitians in the fight against HIV and AIDS. This was the sentiment of the First Lady, Sophia Martelly as she addressed the crowd of supporters gathered at the World AIDS Day celebration in ST. Therese Park, Pétion-Ville.

With the theme 'Sida, mwen pap pran, mwen pap bay', the celebration welcomed the presence of Mrs. Martelly, along with other notables such as representatives from various multilateral organizations, U.S. Ambassador in Haiti, Pamela White, Minister of Public Health and Population, Dr. Florence D. Guillaume, and the Minister of Youth, Sports and Civic Action, Magalie Racine.

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The Haitian Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) is pleased to announce HIV positive test results among Haitians have fallen significantly, from almost 10% in 2004 to 3.67%, in a recently released report. During the same period, HIV/AIDS tests taken by the population have increased more than ten-fold, from 58,500 to 839,000. Pregnant women getting HIV tested have also increased nearly ten-fold, from 221,220 to 235,000.

Treatment numbers for HIV/ AIDS have also risen dramatically within the past year, with an unprecedented 44% increase in 2013. The treatment rate for the past decade has shown, on average, 20% increase annually, the exception 2010, when the earthquake jolted the island.

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The cholera outbreak hit Haiti in October 2010. It claimed lives of 8,413 Haitians and threatened the health of more than 600,000 people in Haiti. Mexico has recently reported 171 cases of cholera epidemic with same strain that arrived in Haiti, Dominican Republic and Cuba three years ago.

The health officials of Mexico first picked up the problem through routine surveillance of severe diarrhea cases in the states of Mexico, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí and Veracruz between Sept. 9 and Oct. 18. One victim has died already and 39 other cases have required hospitalization.

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The Martelly/Lamothe Administration, with the particular interest of Haitian First Lady Sophia Martelly, has unveiled the formation of a new training program for midwives at the National Institute of Higher Education of Midwives (INSFSF) on Monday, October 7, 2013. The First Lady, who didn't make light of the important role the women of this very old profession play in Haitian society, ushered in the facility and program by recalling the discipline's importance.

With its target being the implementation of a development plan plus human resource management in the fields of maternal and newborn care, and also family planning, the program established necessary changes to the way in which midwives are trained in the country.

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Are you planning for a trip to China anytime soon? if so, beside the usual screening for things you are not supposed to carry, you might have to undergo additional screening if you come from either Haiti, Mexico, Dominica, Cuba or any country where the Cholera virus was recently found.

China's quality watchdog wants authorities there to implement medical inspections and disinfection routines on any person or vehicles from countries with cholera.

The targeted countries include Mexico, Haiti, Dominica and Cuba.

According to General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), anyone who have been to the countries and have Cholera like symptoms should inform local AQSIQ bureaus ASAP
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In a new study that fails to tell Haitians anything they didn't already know about their flailing health care system, the Henry Ford Hospital stated that, to bridge the barriers existing in health care and culture, greater mobilized medical care needs to be implemented. While it says nothing new, the study highlights the health care problems faced by the Haitian population, especially after the 2010 earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands and left millions homeless.

What it did provide that might not yet be widely documented are some alarming percentages that show the true dire state of the Haitian health care system. Half of those surveyed said they have either contracted malaria, or knew someone who had. Slightly more, at 58%, have never heard of the infectious mosquito transmitted disease that manifests with a high fever and headache, dengue. 30% named fever as their main medical complaint and 76% feel unable to help loved ones who take ill. Perhaps more alarming is that 69% put no faith in Western medicine, believing that traditional Haitian techniques are more potent in treating their illnesses. It is perhaps why 79% name their religious leader as the primary source of their medical information.

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Human rights lawyers have filed law suit in a U.S Federal Court accusing United Nation for misconduct and gross negligence on behalf of the cholera victims in Haiti in 2010. They claimed that the reckless behavior of U.N was responsible for the cholera outbreak because several scientific and medical investigation reports have concluded that one of the most likely sources of the outbreak was leaking sewage system from a Nepalese peacekeepers complex in UN housing. There is no other acceptable explanation how the disease that was present only in the northeastern region of the Indian subcontinent 9,000 miles away, traveled to Haiti.

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Things are not getting any better in term of the cholera outbreak. After Haiti, Dominican republic and Cuba, this time Mexico seems to be next winner of the cholera epidemic awarded by the United Nations.

There is a warning from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) that the Cholera illness could spread worldwide.

As you know, investigations have revealed that the origin of the outbreak of cholera in Haiti to leaking sewage at a camp for UN soldiers from Nepal. Supporters of the victims have tried to sue the UN, so far: "Nad marinad". This year, representative from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said "petition for compensation was "not receivable" under a 1947 convention which grants the UN immunity for its actions.

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