IMANA’s Laudable Health Program in Haiti

IMANA Press Release

No government has enough resources, infrastructure or understanding to meet all their citizen’s needs, especially at times of emergencies whether natural or man-made. There are many countries that are struggling with poverty, poor health care and food security. One such country is Haiti, it is only 681 miles from the US coastline, a 90 minute flight. However, life quality between the US and Haiti cannot be any more contrasting.

Haiti’s population is 10 million and it’s the poorest country in the Americas as measured by the Human Development Index. Haitians live on less than $2 a day. Life in Haiti has become far more difficult after the 2010 earthquake due to the enormous destruction including most of the infrastructure and government institutions.

It is in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake that IMANA Medical Relief (IMR) first sent its volunteer doctors and other healthcare professionals on a medical mission to Haiti. IMR sent weekly medical relief teams for several weeks, setup a temporary hospital and provided care to over 10,000 Haitian victims of the earthquake. IMR was committed to continuing it’s work after the disaster relief missions were completed, if the country needed any ongoing medical help. Haiti definitely needed ongoing medical services. IMR transitioned its Haiti medical mission into an ongoing medical program and called it SaveHaiti.

Under the SaveHaiti program, IMR established the IMANA H.O.P.E (Haiti Out-Patient Establishment) Clinic. This clinic is a huge success. Years of political unrest followed by the earthquake had left the healthcare system in Haiti completely non-existent. Therefore, any level of medical care is a blessing for Haitians.

Our goal is to maintain this clinic on a long term basis, which will allow for us to continue our efforts at providing those in need with healthcare. IMANA Medical Relief (IMR) has committed to multiple week long medical missions to Haiti.  IMANA H.O.P.E  Clinic is located in Miragone, a coastal town 50 miles from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. We are discussing the possibilities of making the IMANA H.O.P.E Clinic a permanent hospital. Our Haiti based partner will invest in a building and other physical infrastructure, while IMR will become its medical partner and provide medical services, supplies and knowledge transfer to local Haitian healthcare professionals.

Our volunteers are passionate about helping Haitians in any way they can. One of the physician volunteers initiated a Clean Water Project for SaveHaiti. Haiti lacks clean water filtration systems. The available water is contaminated and causes diseases and makes Haitian life even more difficult. God willing, we will collect enough funds to provide a clean water solution to the clinic and the villagers in the surrounding area, before our next SaveHaiti medical team goes to Miragone in September of this year.

Another IMR physician volunteer who is an ophthalmologist logged 82 patients who are vision impaired due to cataracts, this finding lead to a SaveHaiti Ophthalmology Mission. IMR Ophthalmologists are working on an Ophthalmology Mission for the IMANA H.O.P.E Clinic before the end of this year. The goal is to conduct 100 cataract procedures and provide glasses to many more who only need prescription glasses to see. This will greatly improve their quality of life.

Our medical team has also documented the need for a dental mission. There is a keen interest among IMANA Dental to put together a SaveHaiti Dental Mission. This would be another blessing for Haitians as they need dental care as much as any other healthcare service.

IMANA Medical Relief has sent medical missions and engaged in medical projects around the globe from Pakistan to Gaza, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Syria and Sudan. Currently IMR is working on concluding medical projects in Sri Lanka and India. SaveHaiti is IMRs closest project, geographically speaking. Haiti is our neighbor which adds to our responsibility to do all we can for our neighbors.

IMANA Medical Relief is seeking dedicated primary care Physicians, Pediatricians, Ob-Gyn, Family Practice, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Ophthalmologists, Dentists and 3rd or 4th year medical students and nurse volunteers for the upcoming medical missions to IMANA H.O.P.E Clinic for our SaveHaiti program. If you can’t join one of our medical missions, please help us in any way you can and certainly remember IMANA Medical Relief in your prayers this Ramadan and beyond. Visit www.IMANA.org to volunteer and support IMR.

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