Malaria - Haiti Observer Blog

Vaccines protect travelers from serious diseases. Depending on where you travel, you may come into contact with diseases that are rare in your country. It is recommended to get vaccinated at least 4 to 6 weeks before you travel. This will give the vaccines time to start working, so you're protected while you're traveling. Travelers can get typhoid through contaminated food or water in Haiti. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends typhoid vaccine for most travelers, especially if you are staying with friends or relatives, visiting smaller cities or rural areas, or if you are an adventurous eater.

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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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Trou-du-Nord is a cityship, capital of the Trou-du-Nord Arrondissement, and part of Nord Est Department. It lies in the northeast region of Haiti, with a population of 37,405 residents living in three sub-divisions, Garcin, Roucou and Roche-Plate.

The education system has a smattering of primary and secondary schools, whose students need sponsorships to pay tuition and school supplies. The primary organization offering sponsorships is the L'eglise Baptiste Trou-du-Nord Church, funding the education of 300 schoolchildren at its eponymous school.

The most pressing health challenge in Trou-du-Nord is the presence of malaria that is everywhere. The American Red Cross has a distribution program, whereby it hands out bed-nets to child-bearing women and young children. The program has been an enormous success, lowering the cases of the lethal illness significantly.

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The early years of independent politics in Haiti are marked by coup d'états and violence as several powerful political leaders clash for total control over the country. One of these notorious figures in this era of political turmoil is François Duvalier, more popularly known as "Papa Doc".

Francois Duvalier was Haiti's president for fourteen years from 1957 until his death in 1971. Before becoming the country's most powerful man, he was a physician in local hospitals and communities in the country where he treated the poor from infectious tropical diseases such as malaria and typhus. With his recollection of brutal political conflicts happening in Haiti during his time, Francois Duvalier was inspired to enter the world of politics. He was selected by then President Dumarsais Estimé as the National Public Health Service's Director General.

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