Through Miami Archdiocese and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Passport Health Miami is reaching out to businesses, schools, NGO's, faith bases organizations in order to organize flu clinics, with proceedings going to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Over the course of years, Passport Health's medical professionals became very familiar with Doctors Without Borders, and their admirable and sometimes incredible accomplishments. Prior to the January 12, 2010 they were operating two hospitals and one clinic in Port-au-Prince.

MSF's work is based on the humanitarian principles of medical ethics and impartiality. This organization is committed to bringing quality medical care to people caught in crisis regardless of race, religion, or political affiliation.

MSF operates independently of any political, military, or religious agendas. Medical teams conduct evaluations on the ground to determine a population's medical needs before opening programs. The key to MSF’s ability to act independently in response to a crisis is its independent funding. Eighty-nine percent of MSF's overall funding (and 100 percent of MSF-USA's funding) comes from private sources, not governments. In 2006, MSF had more than three million individual donors and private funders worldwide.

MSF is neutral. The organization does not take sides in armed conflicts, provides care on the basis of need alone, and pushes for increased independent access to victims of conflict as required under international humanitarian law.

Earthquakes in Haiti cause deaths, injuries, disruption of services

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on the afternoon of January 12 and was followed by powerful aftershocks, including one January 20, 22 and 26. Extensive damage resulted, particularly in the Port-au-Prince area in Ouest department. The Delmas and Leogane districts of the Ouest department were also heavily affected, as was the capital of Sud-Est department, Jacmel.

Buildings - including some medical facilities, government buildings, foreign missions and popular hotels - have been damaged or destroyed. Rescue operations are underway. A fuel shortage, as well as damaged roads and other infrastructure, is making it difficult to travel within Haiti. It is also compounding difficulties aid agencies are experiencing in trying to reach survivors, especially in more rural areas. At least 110,000 people have died, though a precise death count will not be available for many days. Nearly 200,000 others were injured, and an estimated 700,000 people are displaced just in Port-au-Prince. People in other areas have also been left homeless.

Essential services have been disrupted and may remain unavailable for months. Even before the disaster, access to clean water and sanitation were public health problems in Haiti. (In 2009, only 55 percent of all residents had safe water, and less than 20 percent had access to improved sanitation.)

Healthcare quality and availability were low in Haiti prior to the earthquake, and have decreased since then. Facilities are overwhelmed with patients and lack electricity and water. Several field hospitals have been established, some at hospitals, within Port-au-Prince. A Mexican and a US hospital ship have arrived, and some mobile clinics are visiting displaced people. However, care is still extremely limited. Facilities on the border of the Dominican Republic are experiencing an influx of patients. Similar rushes are being seen in Haitian facilities which lie outside of Port-au-Prince, such as Gonaive, Jimani and especially San Marc.

The risk of disease outbreaks increases following such events, largely due to contaminated water, crowded conditions and lack of shelter. Homelessness is associated with psychological stressors as well as the physical risks of sun exposure, insect-borne illnesses and injury. People are beginning to settle into makeshift shelters. As many as 600 settlements have been spontaneously established in available open spaces. Security is an issue, especially for the estimated 1 million orphans. Disease outbreaks are common in refugee camps, where people live in crowded and unsanitary conditions. Some diarrhea cases have been reported, with no details yet available. Suspected cases of measles were eventually determined to be chicken pox. Tetanus is also an increasing problem.

There is also increased risk of 'secondary deaths' among the survivors due to a lack of treatment. For example, infected burns and wounds could turn deadly. People with underlying conditions - like diabetes or cancer - which cannot be well managed due to the disaster may die. Elderly people and young children are also at increased risk. Many HIV-positive Haitians are having difficulty maintaining their medication regimens due to shortages, supply chain disruption and other logistical issues.

It is important to note that dead bodies in the environment pose no particular threat to the general population's health. Most people who died in the disaster did not have infectious illnesses, and so they will not spread disease post-mortem. People are at substantially more risk from food and water shortages, skin infections and insect bites than from exposure to a corpse.

Volunteers traveling to Haiti to help with earthquake relief efforts should be aware and properly protected against diseases that arise after a disaster. With water supplies being stalled and contaminated, the risk of waterborne disease outbreaks like Typhoid and Hepatitis A are increased.The potential new mass of displaced persons could create crowded, unsanitary conditions that facilitate the spread of contagious infections.

Source: International SOS