Help Save Newborns in Haiti

This child was born moderately premature at Justinian University Hospital in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. Her lungs were underdeveloped, and she was only able to breath with the assistance of a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine, which helped keep her tiny alveoli (air sacs) open. Without the CPAP machine, she most certainly would have died. Now, however, she has a strong chance of living a normal life.

The CPAP machine was provided to JUH by Konbit Sante, and was purchased at the lowest possible cost using donations such as yours. By providing essential supplies, equipment, and medicines, the infant mortality rate at the hospital has decreased dramatically, especially among moderately premature infants. In 2016, 1 in 3 neonatals born moderately premature died at JUH; today, it’s 1 in 10.

We need additional funding to continue this important work at JUH, which is the largest public hospital in Cap-Haitien and the second-largest in the nation of Haiti. More than 1 million people seek care at this facility. However, essential medicines are not always available when needed due to lack of financial resources and an undependable supply chain. Even in emergency situations, patients' family members are expected to ask friends and family to contribute money and scour local pharmacies for supplies, losing valuable time. These are preventable deaths—if the medicines and supplies are available, the survival rate is much greater.

By ensuring that essential medicines and supplies are in stock at all times, we can help reduce the number of preventable newborn deaths to zero. We estimate that preventing ruptures of essential medicines and supplies will cost about $15,000 annually.

Links:

• Konbit Sante website