Care For the Healthcare-less

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/nov/22/haiti-cholera-un-weather

We live in a world where we could afford to pay off millions of dollars to military forces and technology, but yet people can’t afford the most simplest health care. In 2010 an estimated 49.9 million people in America could not afford health care. That’s about 16.3 percent of the population. The craziest part of it is that, “Over 100 million people annually fall into poverty because they have to pay for health care.” according to an article on Globalissues.org. The craziest part out of all this madness is that, Americans have it easy compared to other rural countries such as Haiti.
Haiti is known to be the poorest country in the western hemisphere. At least 60 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty. The majority of the population is completely out of reach of government and any services. Because of this the people of Haiti struggle to fight the spread of Cholera. Cholera is an infection in the small intestine. Cholera is caused by eating or drinking contaminated food or water. The spread of Cholera was caused by Peacekeeping Soldiers polluting the water. Cholera has claimed 8,000 victims and hundreds of thousands of Haitians have become sick. It becomes unfair how burdens are laid down on Haiti and the people don’t have the support to fix them. Currently Haitians are trying to sue the UN. The people want $100,000 each for the families of those who died and $50,000 for the ones who have fallen sick. 
Childbirth is a naturally occurring event that happens in a majority of womens lives. Such an event should be taken place inside of a hospital or under medical supervision. But, according to an authors Anastasia J. Gage and Marie Guirlène Calixte, “An estimated 76 percent of births in the country take place at home, especially in rural areas (Cay- mittes et al. 2001). In 1995 the maternal mortality ratio was estimated at 1,122 per 100,000 live births, 100 times as high as the ratio in North America (11 per 100,000 live births),” Not everyone knows how to deliver a baby so shouldn’t it just be right for any woman to have the access to some medical attention so their life and childs life isn’t in danger.

http://www.news.com.au/newstest2/archive-old-assets/more-than-200-die-from-cholera-in-haiti/story-e6frfl09-1225942769456 

In the book "Mountains Beyond Mountains" Paul Farmer is a doctor who has found his calling and is deciding to go around the world delivering medicine to people who need it the most. Paul goes around with the title as the "Poor people's doctor" because the patients that he works with cannot afford health care at all. Paul has saved so many lives that his presence is relied on.  For example, in 1988  Paul broke his leg and stayed in Boston to recover while back in Haiti a patient he was dealing with had died from Tuberculosis. When Paul had returned back to Haiti to hear the terrible news it was not as terrible to know that people have said that if he was there she would have not died. Now Paul has to deal with the guilt.

http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/to-stop-cholera-in-haiti-vaccinate-some—not-all/ 

Now that we know about this issue we must come up with an action plan. One of the best things to do right now is to spread awareness. Spreading awareness helps bring out the Global issues into the limelight. We now live in a world that the use of social media is so helpful. So Login into your Facebook accounts and please share this article. If you have 600 friends on Facebook, it’s a possibility 600 people can find out about the issue. One friend might have 1,000 friends and might want to spread the news also to their friends. This starts a chain reaction and soon maybe everybody will know about it and something can be done about the lack of Health Care in Haiti.