child - Haiti Observer Blog

Here is a result of the new immigration policy being implemented by the Trump administration. What this video is showing is an audio recording that appears to capture the voices of small children. The Spanish-speaking children are crying out for their parents at a U.S. immigration facility. This audio that was first published by ProPublica is truly disturbing. The image of the child showing that she wants her parent and crying as they are taken away.

The photographer stated that the child was traveling with her mother for a month after leaving Honduras for security concerns.

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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 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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International Youth Day is observed annually on 12 August

International Youth Day (IYD) is an awareness day designated by the United Nations, which is observed every year on August 12, since 2000. It is celebrated all around the world with an objective to raise awareness about issues that affect young people who are aged between 15 and 24 years of old, making up one-sixth of the global human population. Each year the occasion is observed with a specific theme. The theme of 2015 was "Youth Civic Engagement" and the slogan for 2014 was "Youth and Mental Health." The logo of United Nation is often associated with the marketing and promotional material for this event. In the face of hardship, 'International Youth Day' is an effort to make sure that young people have the critical skills, tools, and support that they need to become healthy, productive and engaged members of society and they bring great leadership and resilience.

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Would you believe this? A pregnant woman in an emergency situation in Haiti Capital was unable to receive the necessary help and as a result, both the pregnant woman and her unborn child end up dead. To make matter worst, they both died not because they did not seek out help, but she came in at the worong time, during a weeks-old strike by resident doctors, nurses and other staff.

Do you see anything wrong with this picture?

That happened on wednesday, May 4, 2016 at the gate of Haiti State University Hospital in Port-au-Prince. A bleeding pregnant woman dropped dead at the gates of Haiti's largest hospitasl just like an animal.

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This is a lesson of dedication and commitment. After spending 42 months in prison for something she did not do, Sister Dona is once again free. Dieudonne Pierre Bélizaire, better known as Sister Dona who founded the orphanage Sister Redeemer of Nazareth, was cleared from charges of kidnapping, child trafficking and criminal conspiracy in a criminal court in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and released immediately. As a reminder, Sister Dona was arrested and put in prison in June 2012 for the disappearance of child Raphaël Chenet. The father of the child accused sister Dona of selling his child. Sister Dona has consistently claimed her innocence.

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On Friday, July 31st, the Prime Minister, Evans Paul, in the presence of the First Lady, Sophia Martelly and several of his ministers, participated in the launching ceremony of the "Maternity health insurance for the informal sector" of the Office of Insurance Work Accident, Sickness and Maternity (OFATMA).

OFATMA is a social solidarity fund created to insure employees of state and state recognized institutions. After 48 years of its creation, President Martelly has implemented a national insurance plan for employees of informal sectors including small and medium-sized enterprises. The new insurance plan will provide comprehensive protective cover against accident and diseases to all persons engaged in different professions, vocations or self employed who were never engaged or have worked in state or organized sector.

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Have you ever heard that from a Haitian parents referring to a child? " Samble ou giyin yon vè k'ap manje'ou". In another term, "It seems like you have intestinal parasites that is eating you. According to a survey conducted recently this is the case in 25 percent of the cases.

The Minister of Public health and Population in Haiti published a report that shows based on survey done for children between the ages of 6 and 15, about 25 percent of Haitian children are suffering from intestinal worms.

Intestinal worms are parasites that usually infect the gastro-intestinal tract and can live throughout the body and can cause many problem to a developing child.

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Paul Kendrick, a Maine activist for sexual abuse victims, from his desk in Freeport, led an email and blog campaign publicizing and accusing Michael Geilenfeld, the founder of St. Joseph's Home for Boys and North Carolina-based 'Hearts with Haiti' in false allegation of child abuse. In late 2011, he sent out emails to hundreds of people accusing Geilenfeld of being a serial pedophile and 'Hearts with Haiti' of refusing to do anything about him.

The jury has awarded $7 million in damages to Michael Geilenfeld and $7.5 million to the Hearts with Haiti, although seven Haitian men had testified that they were molested by Geilenfeld. However,, it has been learnt that Mr. Kendrick never met Michael or any residents or staff of the homes, and having never visited any of the three children's homes for disabled and disadvantaged children in Haiti. Many observers are of opinion that Mr. Kendrick had the intention to disrupt St. Joseph Family's fundraising network in the United States and Canada, targeting their largest donors, fundraisers in the U.S and Canada. The Department of Homeland Security had launched an exhaustive investigation into Mr. Kendrick's claims and found them to be baseless.

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