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Haiti Earthquake First Month Report

On January 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Haiti. One of the hardest hit areas is Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital. The expected death toll is more than 200,000. Millions of Haitians are hurt and homeless - injured and struggling to survive. This earthquake is considered by many to be the worst disaster to hit the country in 200 years.

This catastrophe has hit people already living in an area ranked by the United Nations as the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. It is a chronically unstable region in economic decline. Haitian families are poorer now than they were 40 years ago. The United Nations Development Program estimates that nearly 80% of Haitians live on less than $2 per day.

Our Response

Relief Workers

During the first four weeks after the earthquake, Medical Teams International sent 10 teams composed of more than 50 doctors, nurses and other health professionals. Our first team arrived in Haiti on January 15 and has been working in the areas of Port-au-Prince, Leogane and Carrefour. Watch videos and view their photos to learn more about their work.

Gifts-in-Kind

More than $3.5 million worth of supplies and medicines has been given to local hospitals and survivors residing in tent cities. These include antibiotics, an Interagency Emergency Health Kit (IEHK), C-Arms, orthopedic supplies and suture materials. Two additional IEHKs are en route to Haiti.

Healthcare

The earthquake damaged many of the health care facilities in the affected areas. Medical Teams International met the needs of the those who are injured through:

• rehabilitating King’s Hospital with infrastructure repairs, staffing requirements, supplies and medicines and emergency orthopedic surgeries;
• conducting more than 50 mobile medical units to various tent cities; and,
• supplying 5 hospitals with urgently needed orthopedic supplies.

Volunteers and staff have been able to provide care for nearly 10,000 people. Services include orthopedic surgery, primary health care, wound care and psychosocial treatment.

Working Together

Medical Teams International has been coordinating daily with the United Nations and other non-governmental organizations. First month partners include Haiti Foundation of Hope, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC), World Relief, and Surgical Implant Generation Network (SIGN). Additionally, Medical Teams International has been working with local Haitian groups for logistical coordination, transport services and medical referrals.

Looking Forward

For the next several months, Medical Teams International will send additional medicines and supplies and will provide medical care in the tent cities and other underserved areas through its mobile medical unit program. Volunteers and staff will be providing post-operative care, physical therapy and psychosocial treatment. Medical Teams International Haiti will be training local community health workers on malaria prevention and treatment of diarrhea and respiratory illnesses.

Aside from addressing orthopedic and medical care needs, staff and volunteers will help re-establish a functioning health care system. Medical Teams International is committed to contribute to the long-term recovery efforts for the survivors in Haiti.

Our History in Haiti

Medical Teams International first sent volunteers to Haiti in 1994 to assist the victims of a civil conflict. During 2004 and 2005, we deployed six disaster response teams to provide health care services for those wounded in Hurricane Jeanne. In 2006, Medical Teams International funded a safer home birthing program through Catholic Relief Services and sent one midwifery team to train traditional birth attendants on effective ways to oversee maternal labor and delivery. Since 2004, we have deployed 17 primary care teams to work with Haiti Foundation of Hope.

Financials

Medical Teams International received overwhelming support from individual and corporate donors. To date, more than $3 million dollars in cash has been pledged for the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. More than $3.5 million in gifts-in-kind has been shipped to Haiti. Donations are accepted online at www.medicalteams.org/haiti or by texting HOPE to 253-83 for a $10 gift.

97% of gifts go to our programs and services. The contribution of thousands of volunteers’ time and millions of dollars in donated medicines, supplies and equipment helps Medical Teams International keep its overhead to an astounding 3%.

Accountability

To ensure accountability for contributions, Medical Teams International is a member of the Better Business Bureau and the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Our federal tax ID number is 93-0878944.

Medical Teams International is a 4-star charity as awarded by Charity Navigator.