Doctor highlights Haitian plight

A ROSLEVAN doctor who recently spent a month in Haiti has given his account of the problems being experienced on the island, following the devastating earthquake that hit the country a year ago.
In a report he compiled for the Lions Club, Dr John Morris explained that from August to October he engaged in a variety of fundraising activities in preparation for departure with the Haven to Haiti group.
“I was to work as a medical supervisor for the 300 or so volunteers on Haven’s Build It Week. During a two-week period, a hundred houses were to be constructed in Gonaives, one of Haiti’s larger cities. Unfortunately, just two weeks prior to departure the devastating cholera epidemic, which has gripped the country since, commenced in the Gonaives region. This made it unsafe for Haven to bring volunteers to Haiti and at the very last minute both of Haven’s Build It Weeks were cancelled. This was very sad news for the 600 Irish volunteers who had spent months raising money for their trip and those donors who had supported them,” he said.
However, given his medical experience and in particular his experience and training with WHO and MSF in infectious diseases, combined with the plans he had already made and expenses already paid to remain on in Haiti after the building project finished, Haven decided they would benefit from his help in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in which 1.3 million Haitians still live following the earthquake of January 12 last year.
“At the time of my arrival, cholera had not yet reached the camps and Haven were looking to optimise their role in prevention. I devised a simple yet effective strategy which combined the mobilisation of community development workers for population education, upgrading and maintenance of latrine facilities, provision of hygiene kits for hand washing and the procurement of water purification materials and oral rehydration salts. It was a very interesting experience from my point of view and opened my eyes to life in an IDP camp and to the truly shocking extent of the devastation caused one year ago,” Dr Morris explained.
Following his work with Haven he flew north to Milot to continue his work in the Sacre Coeur Hospital with the CRUDEM foundation. “There, I worked directly with cholera patients and helped in terms of both the management and clinical care or the cholera treatment centre. I worked as a liaison with other NGOs in the area to ensure ongoing medical supplies and helped to set out treatment protocols and help with population and staff education on cholera management. This was an even greater learning curve, as you can imagine. I have never witnessed any disease that can kill previously healthy people in such a short time, in such numbers. During my time there we had admitted more than 100 patients with an 8% case fatality ratio. It was a tough time and one I will not forget,” he added.
Dr Morris said that over the years he has travelled and worked in developing and underdeveloped countries on several occasions but has never witnessed the level of poverty that he saw in Haiti.
He described how the rebuilding projects are happening at a “painfully slow pace”. “Even 10 months after the earthquake there is rubble in the streets and buildings. In a country where the rural countryside is deforested as a result of the desperate scramble to make and sell charcoal, the only available fuel for cooking, there is no economy to speak of. Cutting down trees is illegal, making charcoal very expensive, meaning people cannot afford to waste it on boiling water before drinking it – a simple measure that would save their lives from the deadly diseases like cholera.
For now, the cholera epidemic rages on, meaning the world’s attention will continue to be focused on crisis management and which will continue to delay any prospect of long-term development. If the world ignores the cholera issue however, then the most pessimistic epidemic projections could see upward of a million cases and over 100,000 deaths. Why so grim? In Haiti there are no toilets unless you’re lucky enough to be living under a tarpaulin in a camp,” he stated.