Run a Maternity and Neonatal Unit in Haiti

2017 is HHA's 10th anniversary, meaning 10 years of healthcare provision in Haiti. With your support we have built up a field with a derelict building, into a multi-departmental hospital serving 20,000 patients a year and employing 250 local staff. This impact and growth is most evident in our maternity department.

When the unit first opened in 2012, our vision was to see 1000 births a year within 5 years. This year marks 5 years since it opened, and in the last 12 months over 1600 babies were born safely. Women come from miles around to give birth at our hospital and they will be cared for without discrimination. 

Part of the reason hospital births have been increasing so fast is due to our community health programme which is focussing on improving access to healthcare for mothers and infants across the region. A key part of that project is to empower women through better health education, helping them to make better decisions about caring for themselves and their children.

We hold women's groups where women can meet together, learn and discuss important issues such as family planning, nutrition, breast feeding and much more. These are active groups which engage the community and encourage the knowledge to be passed on from one person to another. They are a key tool in reducing unnecessary maternal and infant mortality.

The women who attend the sessions can 'graduate' so there was no better day to hold the ceremony than International Women's Day! Most women who attend are uneducated, so being part of a graduation and receiving a certificate for the commitment they have shown is a big deal to them.

Dressed in their finest, the audience of 200 women from across the region, heard from a leading local doctor on the importance of healthcare for all and the need for equality between men and women. Then the groups took over performing dramatic sketches highlighting some of the key topics they had discussed in their meetings, such as malnutrition, HIV and family planning.

The success of these groups in empowering women to make their own informed choices about health and family was plain to see. Knowledge is power in this case and we strongly believe lives will be saved and improved for generations to come thanks to this work.

Thank you so much for supporting our maternity and paediatric unit, and the wider work to improve women's health in Haiti. 

Links:

• HHA maternity work