Does Haiti Need Another Hospital in the Léogâne Arrondissement

Posted on Kenneth DurrrumPosted in Help Haiti NGO Featured, Help-Haiti
Reading Time: 5 minutes

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Does Haiti Need More Hospitals in the Léogâne Arrondissement of the Ouest Department of Haiti?

The world health organization measures the adequacy of hospitalization support based on the number of hospital beds per 1000 people in a country. In the United States, there are 3 hospital beds, on average, for every 1000 people. In Haiti, as of 2021, there are only .61 hospital beds per 1000 people.

As of today, over 40% of Haiti’s population lacks access to essential healthcare and nutrition services. Even more shocking, at least 60% of childbirths in Haiti occur outside of hospitalized facilities. Haiti relies heavily on international funding and out-of-pocket expenditures to provide Haitians with access to healthcare services. For every 10,000 people in Haiti, there are as few as 6 health care professionals.

There are approximately 800 primary care facilities in Haiti. Roughly 43% of these facilities are classified as good for accessible care. Only 8% of people living in rural areas have access to one of these facilities. In terms of health care support, Haiti ranks last in the western hemisphere. In total as of 2021, there are only 41 hospitals in Haiti.

Hôpital Universitaire Justinien, Cap-Haïtien

Natural disasters exacerbate an already inadequate health infrastructure. In addition, the support systems such as access to electricity, clean water, and sanitation are in need of major upgrades. The fact is there is an immediate need and NGO’s like our initiative not only recognize the challenge but we are actively making progress on raising awareness, and support to deliver additional healthcare services and the support network to Help Haiti. According to international agencies, some 4.1 million Haitians—more than a third—live with food insecurity, and 2.1 percent of children suffer severe malnutrition.

Our health challenges in Haiti include, but are not limited to, tuberculosis, opportunistic infections; malaria; dengue; rabies; lymphatic filariasis; water, sanitation, and hygiene practices; chronic malnutrition; reproductive health; child and maternal health; diabetes; and high blood pressure.

Our Plan To Help Haiti

We have secured 944 acres of land, located in Petit-Goâve, a city within the Léogâne Arrondissement of the Ouest Department of Haiti, in which we plan to build Haiti Natural Hospital with adjunct Natural Health Institute and a network of Healthy Haiti Clinics. The estimated population of this area is 463,140 people. The cities of this area include:

  • Léogâne
  • Petit-Goâve
  • Grand-Goâve

The entire area covers 392 sq. miles the majority of which are in rural areas, as much as 98%. It should be noted that 64% of the population live in urban sectors and the remainder of the population, 36%, live in rural areas. Within a small area of 7.27 sq miles, which the majority of the population inhabits, there is only 1 hospital. Our initiative will add another hospital into the area bringing the total available beds in this area to 400.

Our (Help-Haiti) objective is to:

  • Increase the number of available beds per 1000 people within 5 years
  • Make available accessible care services to urban and rural locations
  • Decrease the number of at-home births
  • Improve the nutritional status of the population we will serve
  • Increase the number of healthcare professionals
  • Provide affordable/free healthcare via Help-Haiti Cooperative

There are 25 physicians and 11 nurses per 100,000 population. Only one-fourth of births are attended by a skilled health professional. Most rural areas have no access to health care, making residents susceptible to otherwise treatable diseases.

The last few earthquakes have damaged or destroyed some 82 health facilities, putting the health system in challenge to keep pace with the widening of health needs resulting from maintaining access to life-saving assistance while continuing to offer essential maternal and child health services.

Your Plan To Help Haiti

We honestly can’t get this accomplished without help from the global community. Humanitarian aid and resources are needed right now. We know through our research, collaborations, and partnerships that Haitians living abroad (the Diaspora) and individuals that share our deep belief in helping others are ready to get started today with Helping Haiti.

How can you Help Haiti:

  1. Donate to our Help Haiti fundraising initiative called the Haiti vFund.
  2. to our Help Haiti Appeal Newsletter
  3. Follow Us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
  4. Share this information about our initiative with a friend
  5. Sponsor a worker from Haiti through our worker program
  6. Contact us to learn more about our initiative and how we can help you
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Conclusion and Appeal for Help Haiti

We invite you to learn more about Help Haiti NGO, our team and the details of this vast humanitarian initiative. As little as $80 from 1 million people will accomplish the goal we are all trying to reach. No one should ever have to go through the uncertainties of life that come from not having the proper healthcare and resources. While Natural Health Institute 'NHI' and Haiti Natural Hospital await funding, our Healthy Haiti Clinic-1 is a Public Service Module in the R-Solution Community Center at 89 Cupidon, Rte. 2 Nationale, Petit-Goave.  Public support is urgently needed.

A huge factor in ones ability to sustain a prosper quality of life begins with acquiring good medical attention from birth through ones elderly years. Let’s work together to reverse these factors:

  • The life expectancy for our family in Haiti is around 64 (61 for males and 66 for females)
  • Only ⅓ of the population is financially stable enough to access healthcare resources in Haiti
  • Less than 4.4% of the countries budget is invested in healthcare therefore outside support is needed
  • More than 60% of the healthcare system in Haiti has been destroyed by natural disasters therefore a rebuild is in order
  • Inernational aid, providing medical assistance, has forced groups with healthcare professionals to leave Haiti due to limited resources and working conditions (the basic that a new hospital can deliver)
  • A series of diasters, outbreaks such as COVID and economic crises outside of Haiti has redirected the attention eleswhere. This has led to sever shortages of medical supplies and staff
  • Maternal mortality rate is at 547/100.000 and infants less than 5-year old’s mortality rate is at 58 for every 1,000-live birth
  • Only 55% of infants receive health coverage such as vaccination

814 live births average per day (33.90 in an hour)

No one should die of tuberculosis. Medicines to cure this disease have existed for more than half a century. Yet in Haiti, over 5000 a year die and rates of TB infection are increasing. HIV/AIDS is considered a chronic disease treated by a cocktail of anti-retroviral drugs. But not in Haiti – over 7000 die every year. AIDS is the leading of cause of death for those between the ages of 15 to 49. TB and AIDS are the infections of inequality and unremitting poverty.

Haiti needs a permanent, modern health care infrastructure and solution that can respond to the medical needs of all Haitians and is organized and staffed by Haitians themselves. To be abundantly clear, medical charity for Haitians, our firends, our people is an important example of solidarity and support for the sick and poor, but it’s no substitute for a free, national, indigenous health care system. Help Us Help Haiti.

With 2.2 percent of adults estimated to be HIV positive, Haiti has a generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic. It has the largest epidemic in the Caribbean, where about three-quarters of HIV- positive people live in Haiti or the Dominican Republic.

Take action today to Help Haiti
Any amount you can donate will make a huge difference. We rely heavily on the generosity of the international community. We can't do this without your help. Five years may seem like a long time from now but we are raising funds, providing immediate support and developing a pool of professionals and volunteers that will be instrumental in sustaining this mission way beyond your initial gift. Help Us Help Haiti.