2023 Annual Report

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26 Women's Health Program for Expectant Mothers and Babies Cité Soleil, Haiti Final <strong>Report</strong> for FAUSA – September 1, <strong>2023</strong> Summary: Gang ac vi es in Port-au-Prince have necessitated several changes in Lamp ’s program for Women ’s He alth. Nevertheless, Lamp has con nued to provide medical care, both at its health center in Cité Soleil, and through an expanded program of mobile clinics, throughout this period. Medical care has been provided to a minimum of 250 expectant mothers through this grant. Also, the support represented by this grant has enabled Lamp to respond to the tremendous challenges of the environment – to find ways to con nue care when almost all other organiza ons in Hai (including, most certainly, all government hospitals) have closed their doors. Effect of current events on the project The security situa on in Port-au-Prince has steadily deteriorated since the beginning of the project period. Lamp has worked in Hai since 2006 and this is, by far, the most difficult year that residents have faced. Without a func oning government, the police have been able to do li le against the encroachments of the gangs, with the result that kidnappings and other crimes have gone unchecked. Life con nues because it must but even the most ordinary ac vi es have become fraught with risk. Within Cité Soleil, where our health center is located, the situa on is even more dire. Two gangs are a emp ng to take control of the area from the local gang leader. Currently there is a ceasefire between the three gangs so that we have regained access, but the year-long conflict has made entry into the area extremely dangerous for our staff. We have been obliged to close the health center for several months. Lamp has, however, been able to provide medical services throughout this period. Thanks to our extraordinary staff, we have been able to respond to the crisis by greatly expanding our mobile clinic program. Since April we have held mobile clinics in more than 10 loca ons surrounding Cité Soleil, more than 25 in total. These mobile clinics a ract a large number of pa ents so that we hire three addi onal doctors and other support staff on mobile clinic days. Given that 200-250 people are seen at each mobile clinic, our doctors have treated approximately 5,000 pa ents in the midst of the current chaos. Our Child Nutri on program has also been re-established in a new loca on. It is not far from our health center but we do provide transporta on s pends to parents so that they can reach the new loca on. Parents with malnourished children have very few means of their own.
Services provided 27 Over the repor ng period, the FAUSA grant has funded the care and treatment of 250 expectant mothers as stated in our proposal. However, it must be said the care provided in the first half of the project period was much more effec ve with respect to prenatal care than that provided in the second half. In the first por on of the project year, our health center in Bwa Nèf, Cité Soleil, maintained regular hours, including two days per week set aside for Women’s Health clinic. A second nurse mid-wife was hired to handle the large number of pregnant women seeking care. At that point, expectant mothers received a thorough examina on by a doctor upon enrolling in the program. Each was given a slate of nine laboratory tests, including a general blood test, and tests for HIV, syphilis and other common diseases that could endanger the health of infant or mother. Any exis ng health problems were treated. Approximately 36% of women in the program are found to have anemia, while nearly 90% have insufficient iron intake. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of expectant mothers have a genitourinary tract infec on when they first come to the center. Prenatal vitamins and iron were provided and every woman given an ultrasound exam. In those more-or-less normal mes, each visit of an expectant mother was also viewed as an opportunity to provide health educa on and this was done both in the wai ng area, where the women gathered before their check-ups, and individually, by the doctor and/or nurse-midwife. Community Health Workers visited homes to ensure that women were following any treatment plan they might have and to encourage them to come for their check-ups. As the local gang war intensified, however, and entry to the health center became sporadic and uneven, Lamp was forced to direct its energies into its mobile clinic program. Lamp mobile clinics have been tremendously appreciated by our pa ents and they are very effec ve at trea ng certain types of illness, such as infec ons and trauma. But they are not ideal because they cannot offer con nuity of care. The Women’s Health clinic was the program that was most affected. The mobile clinics have treated in excess of 900 pregnant women. That is to say that Lamp has certainly u lized all FAUSA funds for the care of expectant mothers and infants. But this care has come in a much different fashion. Pregnant women are treated like other mobile clinic pa ents, as a one- me pa ent visit, rather than persons whose pregnancy is under our con nuing care. Many of these women present with significant problems – the ideal of regular check-ups cannot be maintained. Pregnant women who do not have significant problems do not, in fact, show up at mobile clinics. They assume that doctors would not appreciate their presence. It is therefore with relief that we can announce two things. First of all, as men oned, we have -- this week -- been able to re-enter our health center and will immediately re-start our normal Women’s Health clinic ac vi es. Secondly, even if renewed gang hos li es cause
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2023 Annual Report

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