Death at an Early Age in Haiti

Mina Karimi, 10B

            A pressing issue in Haiti continues to be infant, child, and maternal mortality .The infant mortality rate in Haiti is nine times higher than the US and maternal mortality rate is fifty times as high.

(Photo taken from Inhabitots.com)

Haiti currently holds the place as the country with the highest rate of infant mortality in the western hemisphere .A big reason for this is that Haiti is such a poor nation that things like health care, clean water, and everyday necessities are not available to the people and if it is the people can not afford it. Such simple things can help lower the mortality rates in Haiti so why is this not being done. The government should work on this, right? The government seems to be part of the problem. Haiti is so poor because of many struggles with corrupt government officials keeping and spending money on themselves along with natural disasters. Since the government does not provide them a way to clean drinking water they take what they can get. Almost half of the Haitians living in Haiti do not have access to fresh water so they drink dirty water often leading to sickness and death. Especially infant, child, and maternal mortality since the children’s immune systems are not as strong as an adult’s immune system so they often get diseases and many end up dying.

            What about the doctors? Well like I stated earlier they were too poor and the doctors often charged too much for them to pay so they had to go with their lives without medical attention. In the book Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, Paul Farmer a man who dedicates his life to

(Photo taken from NorthShore
Reviews)

helping people get better, is describing a patient that came into the clinic in Haiti when he was younger and it was one of his earlier experiences in Haiti. He says ”Later on that night a young woman arrived at the hospital, pregnant and in the throes of malaria.” She was too poor to afford a blood transfusion and as a result her unborn child died along with her leaving her five children at home not knowing that they would never see their mother alive again. Her sister sobs and cries telling Farmer “ This is terrible. You can’t even get a blood transfusion if you're poor. ’ She sobbed ‘We’re all human beings.”(Kidder, 80). This comment is a very empowering quote. Everyone is a human and they all deserve to be treated so why are there those who are not treated the same? Why do those with less money than others get treated worse and do not recive the things they need? Why don’t we help them get what they need? This way more people will live and the mother in the quote would not have died and her unborn child would most likely not have die. If we help Haitians get health care and these simple necessities we can save so many lives and her children would still have their mother. They would still have the mother they love, the woman who cares for them and sees that they are safe and sound. Since the basic right to health care is being denied to these Haitians because of the corrupt government and the fact that all of them were too poor so many people are needlessly dying of things that can be cured, things they don’t have to die for. If we help by providing healthcare, clean drinking water, and simple necessities less mothers and infants will die during childbirth and the children can get better instead of worse and go back to running around outside like a health child once again. Even if healthcare is given it is important to provide everyday necessity because in the book Mountains Beyond Mountains Dr. Farmer did a study on the importance of them and discovered that those who received these necessities are more likely to get better and stay healthier .To help lower infant, child, and maternal mortality health care, clean water, and everyday necessities are what is needed to be given to them .We have the ability to provide these things to Haitians and help them until they no longer need our help. We can give them supplies, build pipes for clean water, set up a beneficial health care, and if you can’t do that simply donate money. This will help the people in the end and our morals as humans obligate us to not let someone die when we can help save it. We can help save a life and make a difference. It doesn’t take much but a simple action to start a chain of reactions that will end up benefiting and helping someone in Haiti.