Public health issues in haiti

org n. p). People from low income earning communities lack access to quality health and sanitation services. For instance water consumed by most poor people is not properly treated hence an increase in the spread of cholera. By 2001, seventy eight percent of Haitians were living in conditions below the poverty line (Visitationhospital. Tuberculosis, an airborne disease was the number one killer disease between 1930 and 1950 (Visitationhospital. org n. p). This means that for twenty years, most families lost their friends and relatives to tuberculosis. Yaws and malaria became prevalent since the number of qualified physicians was less than the population. Research shows that an estimate of seven hundred health physicians who graduated from Haiti medical schools between 1930 and 1960 emigrated (Visitationhospital. org n.

p). The beginning of the twenty first century offered better opportunities for provision of effective solutions to public health issues through advanced technology. Public health financing is also a factor that influences the development of public health issues. Natural disasters are among the main causes of public health issues in Haiti. An earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 left an estimate of two hundred thousand people dead. The people that survived had to start over, a factor that deepened the existing public health problems. For instance, the earthquake led to the onset of Cholera in November 2010. The Haitian Ministry of Public Health and Population stated that Vibrio cholerae was imported to Haiti from South Asia or Eastern Africa through the harsh weather conditions (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention n.

Consumption of untreated water during and after the earthquake led to the rapid spread of the illness. Historically, Haitians are affected by malaria after every two rainy seasons. In 2008, an estimate of one thousand, two hundred people suffered from Malaria. Forty percent of the cases were caused by Plasmodium falciparum (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention n. p). By 1980, people had already been infected and affected. Some lost their lives while others accessed treatment, which helped them manage the disease. HIV/AIDS is acquired through exchange of infected internal body fluids like blood and semen. Forced and consensual sex is the main cause of HIV/AIDS infections in Haiti (Koenig et al. , n. Stable financial support from different organizations has helped Haiti maintain adequate staffing levels.