The quake that rocked Haiti at the beginning of this year was beyond devastating, instantly. I don’t need to barrage you with statistics because I think most of us have a general understanding of what happened and how it left the country in even deeper poverty.
But it only occurred to me yesterday, in talking with my colleague Renee Targos, that the earthquake also dramatically changed the course of HIV/AIDS in Haiti. Before the quake, about 200,000 people were known to be infected with HIV. That number may well be higher today, according to Dr. Marlene Adrien Dorismond, the FH health programs manager whom Renee interviewed.
via Poverty 180: In Haiti, what does the earthquake have to do with HIV/AIDS?.
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Just two years ago, Marie-Ange Lory lived in a shack that people mistook for an animal coop. The roof leaked so badly during rainfalls that she and her three kids had to cover their heads with plastic bags.
Now she’s flourishing. With the help of Fonkoze, a microfinance organization that receives support from the U.S. government and U.S. churches—many of them Bread partners—Marie-Ange is beginning her own business.
via Marie-Ange’s Story of Hope – Bread Blog.
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On October 15, 2010, health officials reported a cholera outbreak in Haiti. Since then, the outbreak has claimed the lives of 1,603 people and infected approximately 30,000 Haitians. Believed to have started in the Artibonite River, initial cases occurred in the communities of Artibonite and Centre. Now cases are being reported all over the country.
Food for the Hungry is responding to this outbreak by training all staff in cholera prevention and treatment. Staff are also training mothers in FH communities to bring this information to neighbors and relatives to prevent additional cases and deaths. FH is also looking into receiving and stocking oral rehydration salts (ORS) to help infected patients. Currently, ORS stocks are completely depleted due to the spread of the disease.
via Cholera Outbreak in Haiti.
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Fantastic article
“Of the donor dollars promised for 2010, Haiti has so far received a mere 38 percent, or $732.5 million, excluding debt relief. Nine months after the disaster, not a cent of the U.S. donation for Haiti’s reconstruction has been disbursed; it’s tied up in appropriations. Imagine trying to re-engineer a devastated country when your budget is at the mercy of political whims in foreign lands.”
Read the rest then email your congressman and senators to get the aid out of appropriations.
via 5 Lessons From Haiti’s Disaster – By Paul Farmer | Foreign Policy.
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I missed posting this on time but 24 March was World TB Day. Coincidentally, I just finished reading Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. This book is about Dr. Paul Farmer who worked among the poor in Haiti and was an early advocate for treatments to counter drug resistant TB. This book is a fascinating book about Dr. Farmer and Haiti.
Here are some links to more information about the book and Paul Farmer.
Mountains Beyond Mountains:
Buy the book from PIH and help the work of Partners in Health and Haiti
Book Browse Review
A Conversation with Tracy Kidder, author of Mountain Beyond Mountains at Book Browse
Library Thing Reviews
Something Special in the World
The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer NPR Review
Paul Farmer Wikipedia
PBS Global Health Champions
Brigham and Women’s Hospital Bio of Paul Farmer
Partners in Health
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