CDC’s multidisciplinary team of epidemiologists, microbiologists, ecologists and public health advisors in the field work alongside Haiti’s health ministry staff to provide training and develop an integrated disease surveillance system, creating a global network that has been critical in Haiti’s progress in public health:
HIV/AIDS
- The number of HIV-positive individuals who enrolled for treatment in 2013 hit a record high with a 44 percent increase from 2012.
- From 2004, the number of people tested for HIV/AIDS has increased from 58,433 to 839,033 in 2013. In 2012, it was 626,088.
- In 2013, 236,174 pregnant women were tested for HIV, a noteworthy increase from 193,544 in 2012.
Cholera
- The rate of cholera cases continues to decline—a 42% decrease in cases between January and October 2013 compared to the same period in 2012.
- As of early November, the number of deaths was roughly half (462) that in 2012 (897).
- Training and deployment of water and sanitation technicians through the National Directorate for Drinking Water and Sanitation was completed in December 2012 and 264 are deployed across the country—two for each of Haiti’s 133 rural communes.
Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP)
- A strong surveillance system is essential to safeguard public health, and by the end of 2013, the field epidemiology training program run by Haiti’s Health Ministry, with CDC support, had trained more than 60 public health leaders at the basic level and 23 at the intermediate level.
Lymphatic Filariasis
- A third round of mass drug administration for this neglected tropical disease is scheduled this year. The first round in December 2011, treated 2.3 million people in metropolitan Port-au-Prince and the second round in April and May 2013 reached 2.1 million people. Haiti is on track to eliminate this disabling and disfiguring disease.
Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
- Immunization is considered the first line of public health defense, and with CDC support, millions of children participated in vaccination campaigns conducted in 2012 and 2013.
- The pentavalent vaccine, a 5-in-1 shot against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and Hib disease, was introduced in Haiti. Plans are in place this year to introduce rotavirus and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.
National Blood Safety Program
- Work is underway to build a national blood transfusion center to provide a safe and adequate blood supply for Haiti.
- In 2012, the available blood surpassed 25,000 units for the first time in nearly a decade (the estimated annual demand is about 20,000-40,000 units).