Haiti Earthquake – January 12, 2010
I recall the images that came across my television after the 2010 Haitian earthquake. The country was yet again devastated after another natural disaster. This time it was a magnitude 7.0 earthquake and approximately 54 subsequent aftershocks that would bring an already dysfunctional country to its knees. The quake affected 3 million people and killed approximately 220, 000. To understand how the earthquake affected the county and its people it’s important to understand Haiti’s history. The country which has a long standing history of natural disasters, corruption and a nonexistent infrastructure magnifies any disaster many times over. The beginning of the fall of Haiti’s infrastructure began when Haiti became independent from France. In order to become its own republic the country took out loans from US, German, and French banks to pay the French reparation from 1825-1947. After this came a time of governmental corruption whereby tens of thousands of Haitians were beaten and tortured until 1986 when those in power exiled from the country with an estimated $900 million.
Since then the country has dealt with poverty, overcrowding and deforestation. The country in 1950 had a population of 3 million people and today that figure stands at nearly 9 million people. This coupled with the fact that Haiti is now 98% deforested as its impoverish people have cut down the forest to cook with. This deforestation which makes the makes the soil unstable makes the country incredibly vulnerable to any assault by Mother Nature.
When the earthquake hit it destroyed 70% of buildings in the country’s capital city Port-au-Prince due in large part to unregulated construction standards. Sixty percent of the health care system was destroyed in an instant. In addition, 10% of Haiti’s medical staff were either killed or subsequently left the country. It was a catastrophic event. Medical aid came from around the world and one agency that is still there to date is Doctors Without Borders (DWB). DWB has been in the country for the last 24 years aiding to fill pre-existing health care gaps due to the poor health care system. After the earthquake they set up temporary shelters and set up inflatable hospitals.
Today there is still a large need for medical aid and funding. While a great deal of donation money has gone directly to building hospitals in Haiti, quite a few still stand empty because of inadequate planning to ensure properly trained staff, sufficient drugs, maintenance, and medical supplies. It seems that a country with money without infrastructure is no better off than it was before. While I am well aware that the US health care system is not without its faults, it makes me appreciative of the layers of infrastructure that surround it in order to check and balance varying agencies along the way. It has been personal mission of mine to provide medical aid in Haiti and I hope to do so in the very near future as a Registered Nurse.
Henley, J. (2010, January 14). Haiti: A log descent to hell. The Guardian.
