Haiti: Difference between revisions

[[File:Flag of Haiti.svg.png|450px | thumb|right|alt=Image provided by Creative Commons.|]]

'''OVERVIEW''' <br>

Port-au-Prince is the largest city in Haiti and the second largest in the Caribbean. The country struggles with having the reputation as the poorest country in Western hemisphere and its turmoils have been compounded by disastrous earthquakes and hurricanes in recent years. This has left the country in need of international aid and a devastating lack of resources. This has obviously had a dramatic effect on sexual, reproductive and women's health care needs throughout the country. Though Port-au-Prince has more civil resources available than many of the countries more rural areas, there is still undoubtedly a lot of improvement to be made in these areas. Some of the issues include the lack of availability of contraception, overpriced feminine hygiene products, lack of proper medical facilities,  unaffordable and outdated hospitals, a high rate of HIV infection and an alarming rate of sexual abuse against women<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_violence_in_Haiti Sexual Violence in Haiti]</ref>. Additionally, abortion is completely illegal and there is little help from government organizations to curb the STI infection rate and lack of education on family planning. Historically, women's rights are not a high priority for the Haitian government. As of 2016, not a single woman holds a seat in the senate of Haiti.<ref>[http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article55358850.html No women in new Haitian parliament]</ref>

===Laws & Social Stigmas=== <!--T:5-->

Despite the fact that Haiti has a long history with oral contraceptives<ref>[http://ethique-tic.fr/2013/wp-content/uploads/1/2013/02/JunodMarks-pill02.pdf Women’s Trials: The Approval of the First Oral Contraceptive Pill in the United States and Great Britain]</ref>, the country has a staggeringly low rate of 37.8% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 report using any kind of contraception at all. This is the lowest rate of any Caribbean country. An overwhelming majority of women that do use birth control opt for the contraceptive injection.<ref>[http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/family/trendsContraceptiveUse2015Report.pdf Trends in Contraceptive Use 2015]</ref> There have been multiple campaigns with mixed results to raise awareness for the use of contraceptives. Many women are raised in a conservative Christian families and don't want to admit that they are having premarital sex, so discussions about birth control are not likely to be widely discussed by most Haitians, especially amongst the youth. <ref>[http://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/family-planning-delicate-subject-haiti Family Planning is a Delicate Subject in Haiti]</ref>

===Laws & Social Stigmas=== <!--T:40-->

All women in Haiti are legally entitled to 6 weeks of maternity leave with 100% of their average pay to be compensated by their employer.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_leave Parental Leave]</ref> <ref>[http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_242615.pdf Maternity and paternity at work]</ref> However, the reality of the situation can be much different and many women find that they are not in a position to receive this aid. <ref>[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29706995/ns/health-pregnancy/t/giving-birth-fraught-danger-haiti/#.WLVr_BJ94y4 Giving Birth is Fraught with Danger in Haiti]</ref> In Haiti, there are only 201 nurse-midwives for a population of 10 million. NGO Midwives for Haiti are trying to fill this gap with much needed help to improve mother and child survival. As of 2013, For every 100,000 babies born in Haiti, 630 women die of pregnancy-related causes.<ref>[http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article1957834.html Women in Haiti embracing birth control despite taboos]</ref>

===What to Get & Where to Get It=== <!--T:41-->

* An option available for women in need of medical care regarding their pregnancy is provided by the organization [http://www.msf.org/en/where-we-work/haiti Médecins Sans Frontières]has at least one location in Port-au-Prince that offers prenatal care for women with pressing health complications regarding their pregnancy. Unfortunately, their facilities are often overwhelmed with too many patients seeking aid and only have room for very few of them. However, these facilities do their best not to reject any woman in labor, regardless of their health status.<ref>[https://www.ft.com/content/4ecb945a-1e97-3369-9117-8fb3c2b61908 Improving Maternity Care in Haiti]</ref><br>

* Pran Men’m - Located in the Delmas 33 neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, MSF’s 148-bed Centre de Référence des Urgences en Obstétrique (CRUO) <ref>[http://www.msf.org/en/where-we-work/haiti Medecins San Frontieres - Haiti]</ref><br>

===Costs=== <!--T:42-->

The cost for a stay in a Public hospital in Port-au-Prince can cost less than 1 USD a day. However, the patient is accountable to pay for all other expenses, such as syringes, medicine, transportation etc. Because of this, the price of giving birth in a public hospital is out of the question for most people since about 60% of Haiti lives beneath the poverty line.