Now is the Time to Steel Our Resolve

The situation in Haiti is still a delicate one. While things are returning to some semblance of normalcy—schools and businesses have reopened, and protests that have all but paralyzed the country for the past few weeks appear to be tapering off—that could change at any time. Haiti has a long history of political unrest, and it indeed makes the work there challenging.

But that doesn’t make the work any less needed. If anything, it makes it more so, for the ones who are hurt the most are those who can least afford it, whose days are engaged in a never-ending struggle for survival.

This recent article from the University of Miami does a good job of summing up the reasons behind the recent protests, and offers a fair assessment of what must be done if Haiti is to lift itself out of the decades-long misery to which the majority of its populace has been subjected. The author’s assertion that “inclusive programs could be designed by Haitian themselves that address human sustainable development” is particularly relevant, for it aligns with what Konbit Sante has been doing all along.

Since 2001, Konbit Sante has endeavored to improve the lives of the people of Greater Cap-Haitien by not doing things for our partners in health, but by working alongside them as they improve the healthcare system, one small step at a time. We have always believed that the only true way to enact significant, sustainable change is to empower the Haitian people to enact that change themselves by strengthening the five “building blocks” necessary for a health system to function well: workforce and health services; management and leadership; medicines, supplies, and equipment; health facility infrastructure; and research, data, and evaluation.

It’s not easy. Far from it. Sometimes, the challenges can seem insurmountable, and it’s easy to despair.

But that’s when we need to rally, to work even harder to ensure that all the progress that has been made in the past 18 years is not undone. Our partners, and the communities they serve, deserve as much.

So we will continue to forge ahead in this konbit, and we hope you will continue to walk alongside us as we work together toward increasing capacity for a healthier Haiti.

Thank you for your continued support.