Wide Angle . Unfinished Country . Handbook: Haiti's Developing Civil Society

An AIDS patient at the Brothers of Charity Hospice in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Credit: Daniel Morel/Wozo Productions

Haiti is in an acute health crisis. The statistics are devastating: the average life expectancy is under 53 years; 50 percent of the population is undernourished, and more than 5 percent of the population is infected with HIV. In fact, early on in the AIDS crisis, Haiti mistakenly became synonymous with HIV/AIDS. Though AIDS was brought there in the late 1970s by Western tourists, Haiti was misidentified as the source of AIDS and blamed for spreading the disease to developed countries, with significant consequences for tourism. Very quickly, AIDS became an epidemic, worsened by both cultural and economic factors, including the predominance of early sexual activity and lack of any preventive sex education. Perhaps the most startling statistic is that the diseases responsible for most of the deaths in Haiti -- malnutrition, diarrhea, gastroenteritis, and tuberculosis -- are either treatable or preventable. But because of the utter breakdown in the infrastructure of health care delivery, the difficulty of directing funds to programs, the political violence that disrupts consistent humanitarian efforts, and local reliance on traditional herbal remedies, much of the Haitian population is still in the grip of diseases that otherwise could be addressed via vaccinations or simple clinical treatment. It is estimated that there is only one physician for every 20,000 citizens.

Zanmi Lasanti (Creole for "Partners in Health") is the most prominent health services organization in Haiti. A partner organization of the Boston-based Partners in Health (founded in 1983 and led by doctor and advocate Paul Farmer), it operates a 104-bed hospital and a full range of laboratories and outpatient clinics, trains community health care workers, supports community-based treatment efforts for AIDS and tuberculosis, and advocates for public health and potable water projects across Haiti. Farmer's work is the subject of Tracy Kidder's book, MOUNTAINS BEYOND MOUNTAINS. The American Friends Service Committee is active; in western Haiti, it funds and operates community health projects including health education programs, pre- and postnatal care, midwife and health worker training, and sanitation projects. Project Medishare, a partnership with the pediatrics department of the University of Miami, operates a clinic and tuberculosis and AIDS programs in the community of Thomonde, providing care to as many as 35,000 people and raising TB cure rates from less than 50 percent to nearly 100 percent. Its work has been chronicled in the documentary film ONCE THERE WAS A COUNTRY, by Kimberly Green.

Next: Journalism

Briefing
Read about the political, economic, social, and historical realities of Haiti that will influence upcoming elections.

Photo Essay
Get an inside look at Haiti's struggle with environmental and social challenges.

Filmmaker Notes
Go behind the scenes with filmmakers Daniel Morel, Jane Regan, and Whitney Dow.

Power Shifts in Afghanistan's History
Discover who controlled power throughout Afghanistan's tumultuous history.

A Developing World View
Get a sense of the worlds' have and have-nots.

Corruption Chart
Calculate the cost of the culture of corruption.