Health - Haiti Observer Blog

This year World Tuberculosis Day, acknowledged on March 24 each year, fell on a Monday, and plans to disseminate information on the disease hit the ground running. Part of the success of the venture was due to the aid the Haitian government received from the US in the Caribbean country, which routinely screens for TB within their President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program
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TB is one of the leading causes of death among Haiti's children. It is an infection of the bacterial kind that spreads through the bloodstream and lymph nodes to various organs. Usually found in the lungs, it is easily spread through the air and untreated cases can result in exponential infections as one person may cause an additional 10 to 15 infections per year.

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Ministry of Public Health and Population's Campaign to Eliminate Tetanus

Ministry of Public Health and Population (MPHP), with the support of UNICEF, has a goal of stamping out maternal and neonatal tetanus in Haiti within two years. Tetanus is a deadly disease that leads to death for many newborns. This year's campaign is aimed at 65 communes with a high-risk potential. Among the at-risk communes is Milford in the South-East Department. A statistic reveals almost 50% of tetanus cases happen in Haiti across the Caribbean region.

The problem with getting communes in the South-East Department vaccinated is they are remote. One of the communes, Milford, is difficult to access because the road leading to Milford from Jacmel hugs the side of a mountain, a three-hour drive and six-hour walk. Those on foot labor under brutal climatic conditions, a broiling sun and continuous high winds. Vaccinators endure these elements because women will not undertake the journey to come and get vaccinated.

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The onion, in all its shapes and varieties, not only provides a succulent addition to hot recipes and crunchiness to raw salads, but also promotes many health benefits.

The onion is classified as a botanical vegetable, part of the genus alliaceae, also called allium cepa. The plant grows approximately two feet in height, and takes three to our months before it can be harvested. It is a popular vegetable used in cooking all over the globe.

Yellow and white onions possess a pungency because of a sulfur compound, allyl propyl disulphide. The Spanish red variety are milder and sweeter, a perfect accompaniment to salads. The shallot, a small, mild-tasting onion, possesses an ovular shape and sweeter flavor.

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Lemon, the ellipsoidal, often yellow fruit that is almost a staple in Haitian homes is used in everything from the preparation of cool, refreshing glasses of lemonade, to the preparation of food. A great ingredient, the citrus fruit gives flavor in its juice and its rind (zest). A new way of using lemons, that is quickly catching-on, pushes its importance even further.

According to American nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman, lemons can also be the answer to the question of how one can obtain optimal hydration, improve digestion, boost immunity and, the holy grail of all health goals, lose weight.

Just by swapping out your tea or coffee in the morning for a hot cup of lemon water, people can see the benefits of this super fruit through many aspects of health. To make the drink, to be had first thing in the morning for best results, one should combine the juice of half of one lemon, or 1 tablespoon of 100% organic lemon juice for those who do not have fresh lemons, with a cup of hot water. Drinking this concoction, which can be spruced up to taste with anything from ground cinnamon or ginger--a pinch of each, will give further drive to one's metabolism.

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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 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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Overpopulation on the globe has become a serious concern to governments. All sectors of society are affected: jobs, education, healthcare, and agriculture. In emerging nations, the phenomenon is more intensified. Weak economies cannot create sufficient employment opportunities to lift people out of poverty. Nowhere is this truer than in Haiti. On the index of failed states, the small island has difficulty gaining traction to provide employment, housing, education, and healthcare to 70% of its 10 million population.

The poor in Haiti have become so desperate they often take to the streets, setting cars on fire and erecting barricades to obstruct the flow of commerce to voice their indignation at what they are forced to endure. Much of the violence occurring in places like Port-au-Prince come from gang activity. The Haitian National Police try to manage it but between inadequate manpower and the underground nature of gang activity it is like treading water.

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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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According to UN Peacekeeping Deputy Edmond Mulet, the Cholera epidemic that has spread in Haiti is the result of Haiti Underdevelopment and this is what should be blamed. I can't help but to think about something similar that use to happen with women who have been raped. Women were blamed for wearing something too sexy or too tight.

This statement of Edmond Mulet, blaming the victim, in this case Haiti, for the spread of Cholera in Haiti is out of this world. The same way Haiti is now being blamed by Edmond Mulet as the victim

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