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Haiti Medical Project video – short version
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Haiti Medical Project Overview
Persons living in most communities in Haiti have almost no opportunity to see a physician and cannot afford hospital care. As a result health care needs in Haiti are acute. The incidence of infectious disease is elevated. Few births are attended by a trained provider. Water borne disease is prevalent. Infant and maternal mortality are high.
Beginning in 2012 the Church of the Brethren has been sponsoring the Haiti Medial Project as a way to begin to meet these needs in the communities where new Haitian Brethren congregations are located. This work is a partnership with Eglise des Freres ‘d Haiti (the Church of the Brethren in Haiti), which now has 30 congregations or preaching points serving well over 3,000 participants.
The foundational program for Haiti Medical Project was to provide direct health care through mobile clinics led by an all-Haitian team of physicians, nurses, and support persons. Local Brethren congregations provide promotional and logistical support. Beginning with 12 clinics in 2012 the mobile clinic program has grown to serving as many as 48 clinics a year, reaching nearly 40,000 persons and averaging over 165 patients per clinics.
Building on the success of the mobile clinics, in 2015 Haiti Medical Project added a second major dimension—a community development team that addresses longer-term issues of high mortality, inadequate nutrition and insufficient family income. This team has grown to 15 Haitian leaders and leads programs in community health, pure water, women’s income generation, and building latrines.
Haiti Medical Project operates with a non-traditional grass roots financial plan that relies strongly on designated gifts from Brethren congregations and individuals and related foundations. The financial support includes a Haiti Medical Project endowment that has grown to nearly $500,000, generating annual support in the $30,000 range.