Gorry C

Language: English
References: 9
Page: 44-47
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There are dates that weigh heavy. January 12, 2010 is one of them—not only for Haitian survivors, over one million of whom are still internally displaced, but also for the 331 Cuban health professionals who were working in the Haitian public health system when the earthquake struck. Among the fi rst responders, these doctors, nurses, and technicians serve in Cuban health cooperation programs, which have been providing care to Haitians since 1998. Once the earth settled that fateful Tuesday, they were faced with an entirely new landscape, strewn with patients in urgent need of medical care.

REFERENCES

1. Cooperation includes free corrective eye surgery (Operación Milagro), scholarships for young Haitians to the Latin American Medical School (ELAM), and Cuban health professionals posted in Haiti, mainly among remote and vulnerable populations (Comprehensive Health Program). The latter also includes vaccination campaigns, health promotion and education, vector control and other population health components. Together, these programs have bolstered the Haitian public health system by posting between 300 and 400 Cuban health professionals in public hospitals and clinics for the last 12 years.

2. Brigada Médica Cubana en Haití. Boletín de Prensa No. 7. Brigada Medica Cubana en Haití. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 18 Mar 2010.

3. The Henry Reeve Medical Contingent was founded in 2005 in response to Hurricane Katrina. For details see: Cuba’s Response to Katrina Disaster. MEDICC Review. 2005 Aug–Sep;7(8):31–2. Available from: http://www.medicc.org/publications/ medicc_review/0805/headlines-in-cuban-health.html. For the Contingent’s work since its establishment, see Cuban Health Cooperation Turns 45. MEDICC Review. 2008 Summer;10(3):44–7. Available from: http://medicc.org/ mediccreview/index.php?issue=3&id=22&a=va.

4. Although the scale back was relatively measured throughout March, it accelerated as seasonal rains and the offi cial date for the end of the emergency phase approached. Set for April 12, this meant that public hospitals and health clinics in Haiti would resume charging for services on this date. For more on doctors withdrawing, see Dugan IJ. Emergency Doctors Leave Haiti. WSJ. 2010. 23 Feb 2010. Available from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870 3503804575083973597429774.html#articleTabs_comments%3D%26articleT abs%3Darticle.

5. Under the terms of the accord, Brazil pledged $USD 80 million to help rebuild the Haitian health system and establish a national epidemiological surveillance network. For more see http://mediccglobal.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/trilateral- accord-signed-to-rebuild-haitian-public-health-system/.

6. ELAM doctors committing to a year or more were offered the opportunity to pursue their family medicine residency while serving in Haiti.

7. The number of rehabilitation clinics is slated to increase to 30 by year’s end. Brigada Médica Cubana en Haití. Boletín de Prensa No. 9. Brigada Medica Cubana en Haití. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 9 Apr 2010.

8. Factors complicating the identifi cation of prostheses candidates include the perception that all health services (including those offered by the Cubans) are fee-based; transportation and mobility diffi culties; and the lack of knowledge about prostheses and rehabilitation in general.

9. Jordan M. Facing dwindling medical health from abroad, offi cials plan postquake system, seek outside funds. WSJ. 2010. 19 Mar 2010.