Today's earthquake in Haiti is likely to be absolutely catastrophic for this poor island nation. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and has virtually no public health infrastructure. The 7.0 quake, followed by several 5.0+ aftershocks mean that devastation will be widespread. Haiti has has it's share of natural disasters including 4 hurricanes with major flooding in 2008. Haiti is a nation beleaguered by poverty and illness and an earthquake like the one today spells utter disaster.
So what can we do? Lots. Money, resources, supplies--all will be needed in the coming weeks and months. Especially once the media outlets move on to other stories, Haiti will be left, once again, to rebuild.
For those of you interested in reading about the public health conditions in Haiti and some of the efforts currently underway, I urge you to take a look at Paul Farmer's work through Partners in Health. Just one of many organizations doing good work in Haiti, PIH is unique in that it trains local people to be lay health workers. It uses the countries best resources--it's people--to spread information and medical assistance.
Today's new thing therefore was a donation to charity and a renewed commitment to do what I can, both for Haiti, and in my own community, to promote health and wellness among the most vulnerable groups. Here is a list of resources. I urge you to do what you can.
Partners in Health: http://pih.org
International Action: http://www.iawater.org/index.php
Direct Relief International: http://www.directrelief.org/WhereWeWork/Countries/Haiti/Haiti.aspx?gclid=CI7WyL6K9pQCFQNaFQodO26fqQ
The Rotery Foundation: http://www.rotary.org/en/AboutUs/TheRotaryFoundation/Pages/ridefault.aspx
The Red Cross: http://redcross.org
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