Hurricane Matthew Relief in Haiti

As you know from our last report, by early January SBHF's mobile clinic teams were reaching some of the most isolated communities on the western end of Haiti's Southern Peninsula - the area hardest hit by Hurricane Matthew. In the first ten weeks of operations, the mobile clinic teams saw over 9,000 patients. The vast majority of these people had not seen a doctor since before the storm, and many had not had access to medical care for years, even before Hurricane Matthew.

Since then, SBHF has continued to be a key partner in the South as communities struggle to rebuild after October's disasterous hurricane. 

In March, SBHF was awarded a one-year $1,900,000 grant to the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation (SBHF) to support SBHF’s work to address the immediate and longer term response and recovery in southern Haiti in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. The much needed project will strengthen efforts to rebuild, revive, and reinforce health services in southern Haiti. Over the next 12 months, SBHF will continue to play a critical role in building healthcare infrastructure and services that were affected by Hurricane Matthew. This work will include expanding SBHF’s current role as a regional referral center in order to contribute towards building the long-term resiliency of the health system. With this support from WKKF, SBHF will expand treatment capacity in the region for specialty services such as obstetric and gynecological care, neonatal intensive care, and the provision of community health outreach services. This work is targeted towards communities, families, and individuals most affected by the hurricane, with the goal of promoting resilience for future disasters.

"The Kellogg Foundation's ongoing support of SBHF's core mission to provide high-quality healthcare to the people of southern Haiti is a testament to their long-term vision of a stronger, healthier Haiti. In the wake of Hurricane Matthew it has never been more important to ensure that all people, especially the most vulnerable, have access to healthcare. We are grateful for WKKF's partnership in this effort," said SBHF CEO Conor Shapiro.

In addition to building the capacity of its referral hospital, SBHF has partnered with Build Health International (BHI), which has successfully constructed essential health infrastructure in Haiti and southeastern Africa for years, to strengthen supply chain systems vital to delivery of quality care in southern Haiti. BHI will construct a 10,000 square-foot warehouse to expand the current storage capacity for much-needed supplies. This warehouse will serve as a regional distribution point for supplies and medications. 

This is WKKF’s fifth grant to SBHF. In addition, the WKKF provided major support for the construction of the Maternal and Neonatal Health Center, and ongoing operations support for maternal, neonatal, and child health services, as well as surgical and monitoring and evaluation programs.

Links:

• Click here for more information on our Hurricane Response.