Health

Today is World Pneumonia Day 2009.  Every day, 4000 children die from pneumonia in Haiti and other countries throughout the developing world.  This is more than HIV/AIDS, measles, and malaria combined.  Despite that, it has not been a global health priority.  This could change as there is more attention being given this preventable and treatable disease.  While there is no single magic bullet, there are a series of proven interventions that, if scaled up, would protect and promote the health of children around the world.  Click here to learn which organizations participated in World Pneumonia Day 2009 and here to learn how you can be a part of the global fight against pneumonia, not just for one day, but throughout the year.

As of last week, Paul Farmer was no longer under consideration for the position of USAID Director.  Today, it was announced that he has instead been appointed Deputy U.N Special Envoy to Haiti.  Clinton said that Farmer's "credibility both among the people of Haiti and in the international community will be a tremendous asset" to their work in Haiti.  While many looked forward to seeing him to reforming and leading USAID, this new position allows him to once again work full time on Haiti, a country for which he cares deeply.

Konbit Sante is a Maine-based non profit organization focused on building the physical infrastructure of Cap Haitian's Justinian Hospital and the capacity of its staff, significant given that this health facility is the largest in the north.  Last week, Konbit Sante announced a new partnership with Direct Relief International (DRI).  DRI has agreed to provide close to half a million dollars worth of medications to the Justinian Hospital.  Should tropical storms hit northern Haiti again this year, having these medicines on hand will considerably improve response time.  A press release is copied below.  

Surgical Volunteers International (SVI) is an organization that specializes in treating clefts, burns and urological problems.  SVI visited Haiti in March and worked with Haitian counterparts to reconstruct, without charge, 67 cleft lips and palates.  SVI will travel to Haiti in June and again in September.  If you know of a Haitian child in need of surgery for a cleft lip or palate, please pass on the contact information contained in the attached flyer (in Kreyol) to his/her family.  Below is a summary of their last visit from the SVI Blog.  

Below is a post from "The Cable", confirming rumors that Paul Farmer is considering a position in the Obama Administration.  The position is as of yet unclear.  It may be USAID Administrator or a new position coordinating U.S. Global Health programs.  Partners in Health has had a tremendous impact in Haiti, Latin America, Africa, and elsewhere.  As a champion of health and human rights, Farmer's vision and expertise would be an asset to the Obama Administration.  

JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. is a health research/consulting firm dedicated to improving the health of individuals and communities worldwide.  JSI visited Haiti in January 2009 to identify gaps in the availability and accessibility of reproductive health (RH) services and to assess community responses for strengthening quality, accessibility and availability.  Reproductive health is a social issue, a public health issue, a human rights issue, a security issue, and one that is important for countries that are fragile, stable, or in Haiti's case, teetering in between.  The report is attached and deserves to be widely read.

According to Jonathan Katz, public health workers plan to vaccinate some 1 million women and children this week around Haiti's capital after delays exacerbated by food riots and hurricanes.  The effort marks the second phase of an international goal to immunize 5.6 million Haitian children - more than half the country's population - against diseases like polio, measles and rubella.

World TB Day was on March 24.  If this were a blog about HIV/AIDS, I could write about the progress that Haiti and the rest of the world is making.  However, this is a blog on tuberculosis and a fight we are losing.  More than two billion people, one third of the world’s total population, are infected with TB bacilli, the microbes that cause TB.  People living with HIV are at greater risk.  For Haiti, much more remains to be done.

Every March 22nd since 1992 has been World Water Day.  This year's theme is "Shared Waters and Shared Opportunities."  4,200 children die each day from preventable water-borne disease.  Responding is not just a moral imperative, but sound economics.  For each dollar spent on water and sanitation projects, the projected return on investment is from $3 to $34.  For too many of us, a glass of contaminated water can mean the difference between life and death.  You can help change this by taking part in the TAP Project during World Water Week.