Earthquake

Helping to Address the Short and Long-term Needs

While the epicenter of the earthquake that struck on January 12, 2010 and killed over 200,000 people was in Port-au-Prince, the entire country was deeply affected. The physical collapse of Haiti's capital, largest city, and center of government and commerce - in a country structured in a centralized manner - meant activities throughout the nation ground to a halt. All this at the exact time when people needed services more than ever.
 

Immediate Response

Volunteer helps an earthquake victim at the registration center in Cap-Haitien.We at Konbit Sante knew that our partners working for the Ministry of Health in Cap-Haitien would need more resource and logistical support than usual to deal with this unprecedented situation. We reached out to our donor base and the local community to ask for help. Fortunately there was a tremendous response! The generosity of our supporters allowed us to take the following actions in the weeks and months immediately following the earthquake:

• Pay for the gas to transport buses of victims from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haitien
• Reimburse the Justinien Hopsital and Fort St. Michel Health Center for the costs of provide free care to earthquake victims
• Provide hot meals for the medical residents staffing the hospital and families with children who had migrated to the area
• Purchase needed medical supplies from the Dominican Republic (i.e. orthopedic supplies, blood bags)
• Coordinate the release and distribution of shipments of medicines and supplies from other NGOs
• Send U.S. staff and volunteers to support the medical and psychological care at the registration center, where earthquake victims who migrated were triaged, as well as Justinian
• Buy fuel to keep the generators running to provide power to the operating rooms at Justinian
• Support colleagues distributing food and water as well as addressing sanitation conditions in the camps in Port-au-Prince
   

Mid-Term Response

Health worker calls people to a community education session.Once the immediate crisis had passed, we moved into the second phase of our response. Our intention, in collecting donation for earthquake response, was always to position ourselves to help address long-term needs, beyond simply meeting the immediate needs. We were fortunate to have been invited to participate in coordination meetings of the Health Commission, a coalition of the Ministry of Health's Northern Department, UN, and local authorities. This group worked to identify priority health issues and make plans to address them. To follow through on these ideas, we decided to do the following:

• Expand community health outreach services by hiring two additional agent de sante and a nurse supervisor
• Undertake a project to develop a comprehensive resource guide of services available in the community
  
• Increase the capacity to care for wounds properly by hiring a wound care nurse specialist to work at Justinian Hospital
• Support the establishment of a local Haitian organization that serves impoverished communities by organizing mobile clinics that visit under-served neighborhoods on a rotating basis
• Expand the capacity of the supply depot at Justinian Hospital to inventory and distribute donations of medical supplies by hiring an to work with the Stock Manager assistant
• Repair and ship a mobile medical unit to Haiti that will be used for providing medical care out in the community
   

One Year Later, and Beyond

The impact of the earthquake is still palpable more than one year later. In Port-au-Prince there are still thousands of people living in camps and uncleared rubble remains a part of the landscape. In Cap-Haitien, the effect of the earthquake has always been less visually obvious but is still there. The population swelled as people moved away from Port-au-Prince and those people haven't moved back. Households that were full before now have two, three or more additional people to care for. More people in a small geographic area increases the risk of infectious disease and adds strain on an already limited health system. Plus, individuals who suffered serious physical and emotional injuries need continued follow up care. To address these issues, we plan to do the following in the next year and beyond:

• Support care for individuals with spinal cord injuries
• Maintain increased staff capacity for supply management, community health outreach, and wound care
• Complete capital projects that will improve the quality and capacity of our partner institutions
• Continue to expand community based services by offering mobile clinics in under-served to address physical and mental health issues