2022 in Haiti began with two moderate Earthquakes on January 24th in the Nippes region, magnitude 5.4 and 5.6, followed by several aftershocks felt all across the country. So far there have officially been 2 deaths and 45 injuries, along with 800 houses destroyed. Our contacts in Haiti tell us there is a great deal of panic in the population triggered by a collective PTSD with roots in both the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Nippes last August, and the lingering memory of the horrific 2010 earthquake centered in Leogan.
Dr. Sylverain draining a knee infusion following a mototaxi injury.
While it is fortunate the destruction from these recent tremors was moderate, it has once again exposed significant limitations in the medical capabilities of hospitals in the Nippes region of Haiti. While there are hospitals staffed with nurses and support staff, there is an almost total absence of surgical and traumatic care in the southern region of Haiti. Prior to last August’s major earthquake that damaged or destroyed many of the roads and bridges in the south, patients requiring major surgery were transported by car to Port-au-Prince (PaP) hospitals, where 90% of hospitals and the medical professionals are located. Immediately following the August earthquake, the first load of patients being taken from the affected area to PaP via ambulance was kidnapped by gangsters that control areas between Nippes and PaP. While these patients were later released, it became clear that transporting patients from the affected area to the capitol for surgeries was not a workable solution.
If you’ve followed this Blog, you already know how Healing Art Missions (HAM) mounted a successful surgical response to the August disaster, by flying teams of orthopaedic and general surgeons, anesthesiologist and nurses to the affected region. Organized and led by HAM’s medical director Dr. Jacques, they operated in existing hospitals facilities, working with the hospitals support staff. Our original plan was to maintain a weekly surgical presence in the southern region for three months to perform major surgeries, as well as maintain post-surgical care related to earthquake injuries. However, as the number of earthquake related surgeries decreased, Dr. Jacques noticed the number of patients in need of surgical care remained constant. Patients could no-longer travel the gang-controlled roads to PaP to receive health or surgical care and were now relying on local surgeries provided by HAM’s team.
The reality is, the Department of Nippes is among the poorest regions in Haitian, in a country where the majority of the population lives in extreme poverty with less than 2 us dollars per day. Add to that the natural disasters affecting the region, including Hurricane Mathew in 2016 and the August 14th earthquake, the health crisis of covid-19, the gang control of PaP and surrounding areas, and the escalating inflation rate; together, they make access to healthcare even more difficult in Nippes than in most all of Haiti.
Dr. Jacques working with a resident in Dumay.
HAM sees the great need in Southern Haiti for accessible and affordable surgical care. We have earned a positive reputation in the Haitian medical community as a result of 23 years of delivering quality community healthcare and our successful response to last August’s earthquake. We have earned the trust of the Nippes Ministry of Health, Hospital health officials, and even Voodoo practitioners, setting the stage for HAM to partner with the local healthcare system to make affordable surgical and orthopaedic care available in Nippes. As such, Dr. Jacques is working to create a new plan to continue to send surgeons to Nippes to work with local staff nurses, nurse anaesthetists, and surgical techs, each week. Creation of this new program will require additional financial resources. We are not sure when exactly we will be able to fully realize the plan; however, true to our mission and our history, HAM will work to provide this resource to the people of Nippes.