18 Jan TGSF Haiti Providing Vaccines to the Children we Serve
Many of the infections that children in Haiti contract are preventable through vaccination.
The Good Shepherd Foundation has reached out to partner with Haiti’s Ministry of Public Health to facilitate vaccine administration to children free of charge. Nurses from the Health Department utilize the clinic space once a month for the children we serve to come to have vaccines and medications administered to them free of charge. Vaccines and Medications were administered to 30 patients at the first visit. Our plan is to continue the partnership to provide a venue for many more children to participate.
For a more detailed explanation of the vaccines/ medications that are being administered and information about the infections / diseases that will be prevented and or treated see the table below.
| Vaccine / Medication being administered | Diseases Prevented / Treated |
# of cases in 2023 in Haiti | Additional Information |
| MMR | Measles | 276 | With the introduction of the vaccine campaign, there has been a drastic reduction.in cases |
| MMR | Mumps | 0 | Mumps has been eradicated. |
| MMR | Rubella | 276 | With the introduction of the vaccine campaign, there has been a drastic reduction.in cases |
| Polio | Poliomyelitis | 244 | According to UNICEF.
countries facing conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian crises are struggling to provide routine childhood immunisations leaving many children vulnerable to the resurgence of polio |
| DTP | Diphtheria | 470 | The highest rates have been observed during outbreaks and a general trend of spatial variation across the country; indicating that certain areas experience higher diphtheria cases than others. |
| DTP | Tetanus | 73 | Tetanus is endemic in Haiti |
| DTP | Pertussis (Whooping Cough) | 14 | There is an increase in this infection in Haiti. |
| BCG | Tuberculosis | 10,847 | Haiti has one of the highest TB incidence rates in the Americas. Poverty, overcrowding, and poor housing conditions are contributing factors |
| Pneumococcus | Pneumococcal Pneumonia | Unknown | The incidence of pneumococcus in Haiti is considered high. A significant proportion of children is colonized with Streptococcus pneumoniae. Pneumonia caused by pneumococcus is considered a leading cause of death in Haitian children under five years old. . |
| Vitamin A | Night Blindness
Higher Death Rate |
Unknown | Children with even a mild vitamin A deficiency and no clinical symptoms such as night blindness face higher death rates. While this vitamin can be acquired by drinking whole milk or eating mangoes – a fruit readily available in Haiti – most children’s diets lack it in sufficient |
| Albendazole | Intestinal Parasitic Infection | More than one third of the population | Intestinal parasites infect more than a third of the population. The highest infection rates occur amongst school aged children. The transmission typically occurs through soil, vegetation, food and water contaminated by parasite eggs. Infection with these parasites results in malnutrition and impaired growth |