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Haiti: Dealing with the indirect consequences of earthquake

Published 01 February 2010

 

Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF) emergency wards in Haiti are still treating large numbers of patients, but the nature of their injuries or conditions is gradually changing. Fewer people are appearing with wounds caused by the earthquake and more are coming forward suffering from the indirect consequences of the disaster.

MSF has seen an increase in the number of children suffering from diarrhea and more people are coming forward with physical symptoms of mental trauma. A few cases of tetanus – a very dangerous illness – have begun to emerge.

However, MSF’s operating theatres are still very busy. Two teams in Léogâne are still dealing with 30 operations a day, as is the new hospital in Carrefour. The inflatable hospital in St. Louis is still focused on compound fractures and the operating theatres in Choscal are dealing with other needs, including some bullet wounds and car accidents.

The pressing need for post-operative care, and the space to provide it, has driven a number of developments. Facilities are now ready in Delmas 30, with 100 beds that will start accepting patients this week, in Bicentaire, where 60 beds are ready under canvas, and in the Lycee site in Port-au-Prince, which opens for work today. There is some concern that patients who were treated in facilities not run by MSF may not be coming forward to get the longer-term care that they need. MSF’s mobile clinics are starting to search for these cases in the city.

© Julie Remy - Port-au-Prince, Haiti - January 16, 2010
Dr Karen Lind tells Jerry that with the prosthesis he will be able to walk, play and grow up as a healthy boy.

There are now a few cases of children needing therapeutic feeding in MSF's hospitals, although it is not yet clear that these are the result of more widespread malnutrition.

The impact of the disaster on people's mental health is leading MSF to extend its work in that direction. The mobile clinics that are being run in Port-au-Prince, which see up to 140 people a day, now have a mental health specialist with them, as do the outreach posts in the towns of Dufour and Darbon. In Léogâne, around 20% of the consultations are for mental health issues.

MSF’s water and sanitation projects are also growing. In a number of places where MSF has medical facilities, the local community is getting help with these vital services. In the Grace International camp, MSF is providing water for 15,000 people. In Jacmel, Léogâne and near the hospital at St. Louis, there are latrines, showers and water supplies. MSF is now trying to expand these provisions to other, smaller encampments.

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