CIDA Project Summary

International Child Care Canada is currently 4 months into a 12 month project, with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency in the Lower Delmas region of Port-au-Prince.  The project focuses on three major areas - primary health care services targeting women & children, control of endemic, infectious diseases, and infrastructure rehabilitation & institutional and community capacity strengthening. In the initial months of the project, we have successfully launched the Urban and Community Health projects, which work in the tent cities to improve access to primary health care for residents living there. To improve the efficacy of the project, we are preparing to conduct a pilot to integrate mobile health (mHealth) into the Urban Health activities. This pilot will help the team to identify the best tool to be used by community-based health workers to communicate patient data to our central hospital using mobile technologies, with the goal to improve patient referral times and patient outcomes. Building on over 40 years of health care delivery experience in Haiti, the project has started its work in the urban communities utilizing community sensitization, community-based health visits, and mobile clinics to reduce the incidence and improve the treatment of HIV/AIDS, TB, cholera and STDs among residents of the Lower Delmas region. Our approach is holistic, incorporating psychological support in addition to medical care for those still suffering from the effects of post-traumatic stress disorders. Finally, the work to rebuild Grace Children's Hospital (GCH) is well under way. During the earthquake, over 80% of the GCH health center was destroyed. ICC Haiti with the support of the Relief and Reconstruction Office has begun the needs assessments and human resources skills mapping to help finalize the design for the new GCH. In coming months, a comprehensive environmental assessment will be completed to ensure the new structure is built to meet all national and international environmental! safety recommendations, and that the site is prepared and ready for construction to begin.