U.S. Department of State

The Challenge

Even before the January 2010 earthquake, 40 percent of the Haitian population had no access to basic health services, the infant mortality rate in Haiti was the highest in the Americas, and tuberculosis rates were the highest in the Western Hemisphere. Chronic malnutrition was widespread, with 32 percent of children malnourished; and HIV/AIDS prevalence was 2.2 percent. The earthquake devastated much of Haiti’s health infrastructure, destroying and damaging many clinics and hospitals, disabling thousands of people, and initially displacing 1.5 million to camps, with elevated risks of communicable diseases. A cholera outbreak, which started in October 2010, added additional strain to this overburdened system.

USG Strategy

The U.S. Government (USG) is providing access to health services for 50 percent of the people of Haiti, including a basic package of health services (primarily maternal and child health) and more sophisticated HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services. After the earthquake, the USG moved quickly to address the new health needs, including disability care, while maintaining essential services. The USG is also making progress on rebuilding key health infrastructure according to the Ministry of Health and Population’s (MSPP) plans for a sustainable network of health facilities. To build back better in Haiti in the face of many challenges, the USG is entering into a Global Health Partnership Framework with the Haitian government, which promotes sustainability by emphasizing country ownership and leadership. This framework will be accompanied by a five-year implementation plan that encompasses contributions of the government, civil society, the private sector, and other donors.

Accomplishments

We continue to provide access to essential health services, while responding to needs arising from the earthquake and cholera outbreak.

• The USG supports 251 primary care and 52 secondary care sites nationwide, providing access to healthcare to nearly 50 percent of the Haitian population.
• In 2011, the USG supported HIV counseling and testing services for nearly 170,000 pregnant women—an all-time high; identified and treated more than 2,900 people with symptomatic tuberculosis; vaccinated nearly 157,000 children under the age of 1 year for routine childhood diseases; and provided obstetrics and neonatal care services in more than 350,000 antenatal care and more than 131,000 post-partum/newborn care visits.
• We have contributed over $73 million to the Haitian-led, international campaign to prevent and treat cholera, and we continue to provide technical expertise to mitigate the impact of the cholera epidemic.
• We support St. Boniface Spinal Cord Injury Center to help 54 spinal cord injury patients, 41 of whom have been successfully discharged back to their communities.