UN continues to help meet Haiti's post-quake health needs
2 March 2010 – Seven weeks after a catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti, health needs remain great, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said today, emphasizing the need for stepped-up disaster risk reduction and early recovery efforts to help the devastated nation.
The scale and complexity of the crisis in the wake of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake means the emergency response phase will continue for months to come, according to the latest health bulletin.
“Many lives have been saved by the speed and generosity the world showed in its first response in the first days and weeks after the earthquake,” it said. “Nonetheless, there is still a tremendous amount to be done.”
Of the $1.4 billion called for in the revised humanitarian appeal launched last month, $134 million is earmarked for health-related needs.
One of the biggest challenges foreseen in the coming weeks is moving patients in hospitals to external locations where they can still receive the care they need.
Needs are continuing to be assessed as the reconstruction process continues, ahead of a meeting later this month bringing together all major partners, including the UN, the Haitian Government, the World Bank and the European Commission.
Dozens of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have set up 160 sites – both fixed and mobile clinics – across Haiti.
There have been no indications of an increase in infectious diseases, and respiratory infections are the main cause of illness, followed by trauma/injury, diarrhoea and suspected cases of malaria.
In response to an assessment made by Haiti’s national blood programme, the American Red Cross, Bolivia, Ireland and the Dominican Republic have made blood donations.
A report issued last week by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) underscored the importance of global support in bolstering the country’s defence against the spread of AIDS in the wake of the earthquake.
“It is unprecedented to have such a huge natural disaster in a country with a high HIV prevalence,” said the agency’s Executive Director, Michel Sidibé.
Before the 12 January quake, there were approximately 120,000 people living with HIV in Haiti, out of a total population of some 3 million. The country’s epidemic is driven largely by heterosexual sex and more than half of those living with HIV are women.
Most of the structural damage caused by the quake occurred in three departments – Sud-Est, les Nippes and Ouest, where the capital, Port-au-Prince is located – where nearly 60 per cent of all people living with HIV in Haiti reside. More than half of the antiretroviral treatment sites in Haiti are also situated in those three departments.
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