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Far Afield and Close to Home: SBH in Southern Haiti

Two months after Hurricane Matthew, much of Southern Haiti is still as vulnerable as it was in the days and weeks right after the storm. HEI/SBH’s mobile clinic teams are in the hardest-hit areas daily, providing emergency and primary care to people who otherwise have no access to health services.

Closer to the hospital, HEI/SBH has been providing emergency aid to families in the Fond des Blancs area whose homes, crops, and livelihoods were damaged or destroyed in the hurricane.

Families like Yvette Carena Buissereth’s, whose roof was partly destroyed in the storm, forcing the family of 10 to sleep huddled together under the remaining piece of roof, surrounded by soaked belongings. Their flock of chickens, which they rely on for food and income, died in the storm as well. Through HEI/SBH, the Buissereths received a tarp to cover the gaping hole in their roof, and also an emergency supply of rice, beans, and cooking oil. This emergency aid will help bridge the gap while the family moves forward from the hurricane’s damage.

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In the aftermath of a disaster like Hurricane Matthew, infectious diseases are a major threat. With the ongoing cholera epidemic looming large, the Haitian Ministry of Health organized a campaign to distribute oral cholera vaccines across the affected areas in southern Haiti. Within SBH’s area, our Community Health team along with a force of local workers fanned out and vaccinated over 23,000 people in one week. 23,000 people who are now protected from cholera and will help avoid its spread in the Fond des Blancs area.

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Two young Haitian students take an oral cholera vaccine. Text to the left of the picture says "our team administered 23,271 oral cholera vaccinations in eight days."

Click here to help support these efforts and all of the work that HEI/SBH does to strengthen the longterm health and self-sufficiency of Southern Haiti.