Newsletter Articles

According to reports of some UNICEF social workers, inadequate diapering is a huge contributor to diarrhea and worm infestations in Haitian babies. An entrepreneur is coming up with an idea to decrease Infant Mortality Rate in Haiti.

Jake's Diapers, Inc. is a 501(c) 3, non-profit ministry whose mission is to provide cloth diapers to babies, children, and adults in extreme poverty, especially in countries like Haiti. About six years ago, Stephanie Bowers, the Executive Director of Jake's Diapers once visited an orphanage in Pachacutec, Peru. There she saw that the caregivers, although their love for the babies was beyond doubt, were forced to reuse disposable diapers. They were doing their best with their only available option and that was a forced pick between diaper and food. This unthinkable choice happens every day for many rural Haitian families.

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Many infant mortality in Haiti are caused by diarrhea that can lead to dehydration, vomiting and fever. Often, these are the symptom of a virus called: Rotavirus.

Rotavirus infections spread easily in settings where many children are together. It is obtained through contact with the stool from an infected child. It is estimated that rotavirus disease is taking the lives of close to 2,500 Haitian children every year.

Due to its high contagious rate, just an improvement in drinking water, sanitation or hygiene would not solve the problem. Vaccination has been determined to be the best method to stop the spread of rotavirus.

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Thousands of women and newborns continue to die each year during pregnancy and childbirth or after. The vast majority of these deaths could have been prevented with proper prenatal and delivery care.

Skilled birth attendants such as a midwife, doctor or nurse, who have been trained to manage uncomplicated pregnancies, deliveries and the immediate postnatal period could be the solution. They could also be trained to identify complications and obtain timely emergency assistance.

Unfortunately, skilled midwives are in short supply and Haiti never had enough midwives to meet the needs of the population. Hundreds of thousands of women and newborns continue to die each year during pregnancy and postnatal period.

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Haiti has the highest rates of infant mortality under-five and maternal mortality in the Western hemisphere.

Injuries which account for (66%) are by far the most common cause of death in children aged 1 to 5 year. Over 2,000 Haitian children a year are trafficked to the Dominican Republic, often with the consent of their parents. Several thousands are working as messengers, spies and even soldiers for armed gangs and are subject to abuse and death.

Lack of access to basic health-care services is the next leading cause for Haiti high child mortality rate. Illnesses associated with infant mortality in Haiti include Diarrhea, malaria, tuberculosis, respiratory infections and HIV/AIDS.

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While the primary reason for maternal mortality Caribbean is hemorrhage(23%), followed by hypertension(22%), in Haiti it is different. The main cause of maternal death in Haiti is preeclamsia/eclampsia at an alarming rate of (37.5%), followed by hemorrhage at (22%).

Preeclampsia/ eclampsia are the development or worsening of high blood pressure during pregnancy. The symptoms of preeclampsia are seizures. This condition can develop any time from 20 weeks into the pregnancy until weeks after delivery.

Often, as blood pressure continues to climb higher, this may cause the placenta to separate from the wall of the uterus, causing severe bleeding and even death of the fetus and possibly the mother.

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We are aware that infant mortality in Haiti is at an alarming rate, the highest in the Caribbean. Maternal Mortality is yet another problem that the country must deal wit more effectively.

The maternal mortality ratio in Haiti in 2013 was 380 per 100,000 live births which was evaluated at more than 1000 maternal deaths. This was an official number. Considering how difficult it is to come up with real numbers, the actual rate of maternal death could be much more. Again this ratio is much higher in Haiti than in other regions in the Caribbean

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Haiti is once again leading the region. The country has been ranked poorly for lacking in the care provided to its newly born children. Haiti has been classified as having the highest rates of infant, under-five and maternal mortality in the Western hemisphere.

The Haiti child mortality rate was at a level of 69 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015. It came down from 71 deaths per 1,000 live births of 2014. In 2005, the same rate was 90. This rate is often used as an indicator in rating a country's overall health. Overall, the infant mortality rate of the world is 42.09 according to CIA World Factbook.

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If you don't believe that there is a problem with the current rate of population increase in Haiti, think again. As of 2016, the current population in Haiti was estimated at 10,485,800. The population is currently growing at a rate of 1.71%. This growth rate already take into consideration the effects of excess mortality, lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and higher death rates.

The birth rate, in 2016 was estimated at 23.3 births/1,000 population while the death rate was at 7.7 deaths/1,000 population. The Median age in Haiti is 22.6 years.

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Haitian rebel leader Guy Philippe was sentenced to nine years in prison in Miami federal court today (Wednesday June 21, 2017). He was found guilty for accepting bribes to protect cocaine smugglers who used Haiti to ship drugs to the United States.

Philippe who is now 49 years old will be free when he becomes 58 years old. He will have plenty of time to continue with his political dream.

As you may remember, Guy pleaded guilty two months ago to drug related money laundering. That decision allowed him to avoid going to trial for drug trafficking which would likely put him to prison for life

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Jovenel Moise is relying on US Startup Sigora International and Romanian native Andy Bogdan Bindea to make that dream a reality. He wants to prove to the world that he can develop this new technology in the poorest region of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. He is banking

Sigora's founder and CEO Andy Bindea says: "Proving this technology in Haiti basically says it's doable anywhere else in the world"

Recently, Sigora Haiti, raised $2.5 million to expand its existing grid that has been serving 1,000 accounts serving 5,000 people in Haiti, to a network that will serve tens of thousands more in solar power. Once the entire first phase of the Northwest Haiti electrification project is complete, a venture budgeted at $10 million, the micro-utility will serve 27,000 accounts and 136,000 customers.

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