Community-based Care

Bringing health and hope to Haiti's most vulnerable.

The work of HAS shows that the most effective, long-lasting impact on a community is through targeted, community-centered healthcare.

Our Integrated Community Health Services program performs hundreds of thousands of consultations each year, focusing on basic, preventive health interventions: malnutrition screenings, immunizations, and education about sanitation and hygiene. Health crises and epidemics are constantly evolving, and HAS’s continuum of care allows us to respond quickly and effectively.

HAS community clinics and community health workers work tirelessly to improve the health and wellbeing of families in our service region through:

Critical Health Screenings for Children

The heroic work of HAS community health workers saves countless lives every year. They administer nearly 25,000 immunizations annually, including all vaccines required by the Haitian Ministry of Health. CHW’s also perform over 100,000 malnutrition screenings for children 5 and under each year. We estimate that we reach approximately 96% of all children in our service area with these life-saving screenings.

Community Health Education

HAS community health workers (CHW’s) hold over 6,000 community education sessions every year. Often traveling to distant health posts by foot, CHW’s share crucial information about breast-feeding, vaccinations, pregnancy complications, good hygiene and sanitation practices, and the prevention of communicable diseases, including cholera. These targeted visits and sessions directly benefit mothers, infants, and children in our large service region.

Vitamin Supplements and Other Interventions

Infants and children in Haiti are also often lacking in critical nutrients for healthy development. Last year, over 22,000 doses of Vitamin A (important for preventing childhood blindness) were given to children between 6 months-6 years, and around 1,500 breastfeeding mothers received the recommended postnatal dose of Vitamin A.

Common parasites can also lead to acute malnutrition, dehydration, anemia, and even death from diarrheal disease. HAS distributes nearly 10,000 doses of albendazole (deworming medication) annually to children in need.

Maternity Health Services

Most women’s health services are provided at our community health centers and mobile clinics. HAS offers pre- and postnatal consultations, family planning services, and reproductive health education. Located in some of the most remote regions of the HAS service area, community health centers and mobile clinics create access to quality maternal health care for many patients, who may live up to eight hours’ walking distance from the main hospital.

Read more about how we help mothers and their babies here.

Water and Sanitation

We work closely with communities to create access to clean water. Contaminated drinking water makes people sick, affects their ability to work, and can even be fatal. Water-borne diseases also often lead to acute malnutrition, particularly in children, which can lead to permanent health problems, developmental delays, and increased mortality.

Our team works throughout the year to:

  • Construct latrine blocks and rainwater catchment cisterns
  • Drill new wells and cap springs
  • Install biosand filters in households
  • Deliver extensive community education regarding sanitation and hygiene practices–critical for communities that lack access to safe running water

Agroforestry

In partnership with Haiti Friends, we run an active agroforestry program that focuses on reducing deforestation, one of the most pressing problems in Haiti with wide-ranging economic, environmental, and health effects. We do this by:

  • Educating communities about responsible land and timber management
  • Sponsoring seedling production (hardwoods and food crops)
  • Helping manage massive tree-planting efforts, which has resulted in over 2 million new trees planted over the last decade alone.

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