According to the United Nations, gang violence in Haiti has displaced more than a million people. That’s contributed to an estimated near-doubling of the population in the country’s second largest city. Which has placed a big strain on local healthcare, also hit by the loss of funding from the U.S.
A small Maine-based nonprofit, which has operated for years in Haiti, is stepping up to help meet the growing need for health services.
Fort Saint Michel Hospital sits on a busy road near the edge of this city on Haiti’s north coast.
It’s more than a thousand miles from Maine. But Cap-Haitien and Portland are Sister Cities, and the ties are strong, at least within the healthcare community.
By the maternity ward of this small public hospital is a door marked “Konbit Sante.” It’s Creole for something like, “working together for health.” And it’s the name of a Falmouth, Maine-based nonprofit that’s operated in northern Haiti for 24 years.
"Konbit Sante demands results… And that’s what I love most about Konbit Sante," said Nurse Josaime Clotilde St Jean.
It’s late March, and I’ve come to meet St. Jean. She manages a maternal and child community health program started by Konbit Sante 20 years ago. A large calendar on the wall reveals days packed with activities. But the last date shown is January 31, because, after that, its USAID funding disappeared.
"I never imagined the project could end for lack of funds, because USAID was always committed, always in service to the community, to the people. So, it’s a shame to see them stopping in the year 2025. I have to say, sincerely, it hurts," St. Jean said.
USAID’s annual provision of $220,000 covered supplies and paid for more than 30 Haitian staff who have cared for women during and after their pregnancies and administered vaccines.
"If we can’t continue, imagine how many children might die from dehydration, and how many mothers won’t get continuing health education to keep them safe." she said.
St. Jean is still employed because Konbit Sante is keeping her on while the office in Maine scrambles to raise what’s needed to restore her program.
One member of St Jean’s team, Daniel Fabien, has just returned from his work in the community. He’s been with this program for more than a decade. And, since funding ended, he is working for free.
"What we do in the community is protect and serve. When we learned funds were being cut, we were the first people to respond by working voluntarily to keep serving the community," Fabien said.
The USAID cuts came at a tough time.
The population in this part of Haiti has exploded.
And people are sicker. Malnutrition rates are up, along with violence-inflicted wounds, stress-related illness, and maladies long left untreated.
The beleaguered Haitian government can do little to help.
Down the road, in the heart of Cap-Haitien, is the stately Justinien teaching hospital. It’s the largest functioning public hospital in Haiti, now that gangs have forced the closure of many healthcare facilities in other parts of the country.
Calil Turenne is a long-time doctor at Justinien, and he became its director last winter.
"Cap-Haitien has become a sanctuary for people fleeing gangs, and the main problem we have with displaced people is the first place they look to for refuge is the hospital," Dr. Turenne said. "They take shelter beside the treatment area. And those who arrive with medical needs, we are obliged, with the little means we have, to support them."
Dr. Turenne said Konbit Sante’s support here is mostly for the pediatric department, but it has also helped the hospital more broadly.
"They’ve brought teams to resolve our problem of potable water, they’ve participated in construction. They have their own office in the hospital, and they are very active in the search for all materials to reinforce our service capacity," he said.
Update:
An update since my visit in March — Konbit Sante has continued to look for funds, with some success.
Daniel Fabien is getting paid again, and the community health program has been partially restored, but with less than half the staff. And only for this year.
Conversation with Konbit Sante's Executive Director, Perry Newman
Konbit Sante's Executive Director, Perry Newman sat down with All Things Considered Host Ari Snider to talk more about the loss of USAID funds in Cap-Haitien.
Ari Snider: And now to Konbit Sante's Executive Director, Perry Newman, who joins us from Portland. We just heard in Amy Bracken's report about the loss of USAID funds in Cap-Haitien. Nationwide, what has the effect of those cuts been?
Perry Newman: So the loss of funding has been devastating across the global footprint of USAID, but it's been particularly hard felt in Haiti, because the infrastructure is so poor to begin with that any loss of critical funding is going to have that much more of an exponential impact.
So supporters of the cuts to USAID say that we should use our taxpayer dollars to support the needs of our own citizens. How would you respond to those who say it's not up to the U.S. to help people in Haiti?
Well, there are a variety of ways in which this is so critical. First, on a moral level, we have resources in our country. We have more than ample resources to do what is right, to do what is moral, and to help those who are in desperate condition. But even on a very practical level, this is a very small investment. It's a tiny percentage of the U.S. budget. It keeps people healthy, it produces a generation that will be healthier, safer and less likely to impact the security considerations of the United States. If people are healthier in their own countries, it's going to keep them more contented and less likely to become refugees, and thus burdening the American taxpayer further.
So we've also seen that publicity around these cuts can boost the public response and sometimes leads to more donations to nonprofits such as yours, at least in the short term. Has that helped in your fundraising recently?
It has. We've been the beneficiaries of some very, very dedicated donors to Konbit Sante. The challenge, of course, is to keep this going. We've had this grant from USAID for close to 20 years, and people respond, thankfully, as they have, you know, in a heartfelt fashion. But to sustain the impact and to sustain the funding is the real challenge, and we're hopeful that we can do that, because on the ground, the need continues, regardless of whether the USAID funding continues or not.
And given the landscape today, what are Konbit Sante's priorities for supporting the public health situation in Haiti in the months and years ahead?
Well, we've been in Haiti for close to 25 years, and we work with four partner institutions. Our plans are to continue partnering with those institutions. And our operating philosophy, our DNA, if you like, is to listen to those institutions and our healthcare partners to determine what it is that they need, not what we think they need, what they need. So we intend to do that on an ongoing basis. We're very, very heavily focused on maternal and child health, pediatric care, and the way forward for us is to continue to strengthen the system so that there's less dependence upon outside help and a greater degree of Haitian solutions for Haitian challenges.
