Disaster Response Haiti Project #53412

2021 Haiti Earthquake Relief

by Partners In Health (PIH)

Project Report | Nov 21, 2022
November 2022 Update: Haiti Earthquake Relief

By Binh Ha | Annual Giving Coordinator

Patients receive care during a mobile clinic supported by Zanmi Lasante in Les Cayes, Haiti. Photo by Frédérique M./ PIH

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your contribution to Partners In Health supporting our work in Haiti! We truly appreciate your partnership and your commitment to our mission to deliver life-saving care to those affected by the devastating earthquake in August 2021. Your support makes our work possible!

Zanmi Lasante (ZL), Partners In Health’s sister organization in Haiti, does not work in the region, but partners in the Ministry of Public Health and Population and non-government organizations in the South reached out to ask for assistance in launching a comprehensive emergency response, knowing ZL’s depth of experience in critical care and effective response to the 2010 earthquake. Together, they provided direct care and support in the region, triaged complicated cases to neighboring hospitals, and, in some cases, airlifted patients to Zanmi Lasante’s Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais (HUM).

Over the past year, Zanmi Lasante has:

triaged and treated 67,658 patients from the earthquake zone with severe conditions, including those requiring orthopedic surgery, at HUM
served 36,825 patients through multiple mobile clinics staffed by physicians, nurses, medical residents, and psychologists
provided 3,113 survivors with psychosocial assistance, including food, hygiene products, and school materials
sent 209 medical items and equipment, including portable ultrasound machines, to support hospitals in the South

This was all done despite significant challenges: gang violence, protests, roadblocks, damaged communications infrastructure, and fuel shortages pose grave operational and logistical challenges for the ZL team, and COVID-19’s spread remained a concern nationwide.

And so, despite the instability, ZL persists with unwavering support from PIH’s care coordination site. Not one ZL facility has yet closed or been forced to stop caring for patients throughout the region. Indeed, 1.3 million people, or 1 in 10 Haitians, rely on ZL-supported facilities for care, treatment and accompaniment.

As weeks turned to months, Zanmi Lasante and partners shifted from emergency response to medium- and long-term planning that focused on reinforcing the public health system—both at facilities supported by Zanmi Lasante and in the South—so that the next disaster might have less of an impact.

For nearly 40 years PIH has been committed to building resident health systems in Haitian communities. As we continue to strengthening health systems for all Haitians, we are truly grateful for your partnership and kindness. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions.

In Solidarity,

Partners In Health

Zanmi Lasante (ZL) staff taking care of patients in the Emergency. Photo by Mélissa J. / PIH

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Aug 2, 2022
One-year Update: 2021 Haiti Earthquake Relief

By Binh Ha | Annual Giving Coordinator

Paul (48 years old) is treated at HUM after arriving via air ambulance. Photo by Nadia Todres for Partners in Health (Zanmi Lasante).

Dear Friends,

It has been almost a year since the 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Haiti, leaving thousands dead, injured, and displaced.In response to the 2021 earthquake in Haiti, Zanmi Lasante (ZL), as Partners In Health is known locally, continued to support the provision of urgent care and support the continuum of care for all patients. Since August 2021, PIH/ZL has received and treated 67,658 patients, including those with severe conditions as a result of the earthquake requiring orthopedic surgery, at its tertiary referral hospital, Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais (HUM).

PIH/ZL has provided psychosocial assistance to more than 3,113 patients who were affected by the earthquake which included food and hygiene products, and school materials. Via mobile clinics, a total of 36,825 patients have been seen in the hard-hit areas of Grand-Anse and Sud. PIH/ZL is continuing to support interventions for the management of malnutrition and mental health, strengthening psychosocial support for victims, and continuing to provide needed medical supplies and equipment across the earthquake-impacted regions, as well as support the construction of three permanent health centers in Gauthier Civil, (Plaisance du Sud, Nippes), Baie Dumesle (Saint Louis du Sud, South), and Basse Rivière Desormeaux (Bonbon, Grand Anse). A meeting took place on June 24, 2022, with health authorities to review and approve construction plans.

Moving forward, PIH/ZL will continue to provide social support and mental health services to both patients and staff through its networks across rural Haiti, and seek to establish a new partnership with the Haiti National Ambulance Center (CAN) to improve services for emergency care and provide enhanced malnutrition support for pediatric patients across our network, particularly in Boucan Carre, where the highest number of children experiencing malnutrition have been reported.

The August 2021 earthquake in Haiti continues to make evident the importance of a long-term effort to strengthen the public health system in Haiti. Zanmi Lasante (ZL) is committed to this work and continues to prioritize targeted interventions that will build long-term resiliency into the public health sector and ensure that Haiti is better prepared for the next emergency. Looking forward, PIH/ZL’s earthquake response and recovery strategy will continue to center on strengthening Haiti’s public health sector, building capacity through education and training of the Haitian health workforce, and prioritizing support for the most vulnerable.

On behalf of those we serve, thank you so much for your invaluable partnership and kindness to support thousands of Haitians impacted by the earthquake. Your support today saves lives and heals families in some of the world’s poorest communities, where we stand beside ailing, marginalized people -- who face the kind of everyday hardships most of us can only imagine.

In Solidarity,

Partners In Health

Medical team at Hospital Universitaire de Mirebalais (Mirebalais, Haiti) August 19, 2021. Photo by Todres for Partners in Health (Zanmi Lasante).

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Apr 13, 2022
2022 Haiti Earthquake Relief Update

By Binh Ha | Annual Giving Coordinator

Patients are transferred to PIH/ZL-supported University Hospital of Mirebalais in the days following the earthquake in southern Haiti. Photos by Nadia Torres for Partners In Health

Dear Friends,

On the morning of August 14th, 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Haiti, leaving thousands dead, injured, and displaced. The epicenter occurred approximately 150 miles west of Port-au-Prince, largely affecting the cities of Les Cayes (the capital of the South, or Sud) and Jérémie (the capital of Grand Anse). The earthquake comes on the heels of recent political and civil unrest; impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic; and worsening circumstances for Haitians already experiencing extreme poverty, limited access to health care, and food and economic insecurity.

Partners In Health (PIH) and our sister organization in Haiti, Zanmi Lasante (ZL), mobilized an immediate response to this devastating emergency, and now, PIH/ZL’s efforts have transitioned from immediate response efforts to the recovery phase. PIH/ZL’s emergency response and long-term recovery efforts center on partnership with the Haitian Ministry of Health and support that reinforces local partners and the broader public health system. Specifically, PIH/ZL’s approach has been guided by three strategies:

Mobilizing a rapid response directly in the earthquake zone and building partnerships with local partners for medium to long-term response efforts;
Reinforcing PIH/ZL’s network of health systems to provide urgent care and support the continuum of care for all patients, now and in the future; and
Strengthening Haiti’s public sector for the long term.

Some key progress achieved:

- PIH/ZL provided social support packages to 257 patients affected by the earthquake and provided psychosocial assistance to more than 2,100 patients.

- Via mobile clinics, a total of 18,961 patients were seen in the hard-hit areas of Grand-Anse and Sud.

- PIH/ZL transported up to 209 medical and consumables items, to the earthquake zone, including 29 items to Health Equity International’s St. Boniface Hospital and 181 items to the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) in the greater southern regions.

- PIH/ZL provided six training sessions from January 24, 2022 to February 4, 2022, by two PIH/ZL teams in the southern regions.

- PIH/ZL continued a robust vaccination effort across its 17 supported health facilities throughout the regions of the lower Artibonite and Central Plateau.

- PIH/ZL provided direct financial support to 258 employees whose families were affected by the earthquake, with assistance totaling over $247,000.

PIH/ZL’s earthquake response has ensured that immediate support was provided to address the most urgent needs of those affected by the earthquake, while ensuring that emergency response efforts were integrated into a longer-term commitment to strengthen the health system for the long term. Looking forward, PIH/ZL’s earthquake response and recovery strategy will continue to center on strengthening Haiti’s public health sector, building capacity through education and training of the Haitian health workforce, and prioritizing support for the most vulnerable.

On behalf of those we serve, thank you for your partnership to support the thousands of Haitians impacted by the earthquake and to advance a more equitable health system that can fulfill the right to health care for all in Haiti.

In Solidarity,

Partners In Health

Dr. Rimpel (red shirt, scarf, glasses), chief of emergency medicine at University Hospital in Mirebalais, Haiti, leads an emergency medicine training session at the Partners In Health offices in Boston. Photo by Nina Peskanov for Partners In Health

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