Health emergency just beginning for Haiti’s children, says World Vision
As the countdown to rainy season in Haiti gathers momentum, World Vision is warning that children may miss out on healthcare when they need it the most.
With children already vulnerable through crowded, filthy conditions, exposure and lack of nutritious food, the rain will further heighten health risks, including malaria and dengue fever, diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases.
“When it comes to healthcare, the emergency is most definitely not over,” said World Vision’s Claire Beck in Port-au-Prince.
“Children in Haiti were facing a chronic health emergency even before the quake. This massive disaster has created even greater challenges.
“Now the rains will bring more unsanitary conditions, more mosquitoes, more fevers for children. I’m extremely concerned.”
Hospital fees
To save lives, World Vision is calling on the Haitian government to extend its waiver on public clinic and hospital fees past the initially agreed three-month period. The spike in illness caused by the rains is expected to occur just as the waiver expires on 12 April.
“It’s an expense displaced communities are just not in a place to afford right now,” said Claire.
Efforts to clear drains and other flood reduction projects are also a race against time. A major concern if new camp communities flood is the movement of rubbish and human waste through the shelters.
World Vision is working to improve drainage, toilets, water supply and rubbish disposal in 17 camps, but with more than 420 new settlements throughout Port-au-Prince, flood risk reduction must be delivered on a broader scale.
Child health
World Vision’s child health response in Port-au-Prince includes five mobile health teams providing basic healthcare and a variety of community education and public health initiatives.
Many food distributions are “women only” to ensure mothers have a say in how the food is used.
Private tents create safe places for mothers to breastfeed or meet to share knowledge on childcare. In addition, medical supplies and equipment are being supplied to 11 hospitals, and clean maternity kits are being distributed in the camps for the many women who are not able to deliver in the relative safety of a hospital.
World Vision has been working in Haiti for more than 30 years. After the earthquake, the aid agency immediately found ways to provide access to basic healthcare and adequate nutrition for infants, children and pregnant women.
As the organisation partners in the rebuilding of Haiti, a strong, equitable government healthcare system will be one of its priority goals.