Mortality rates differ from one country to another. The developing countries have a higher mortality rate compared to the developed country (Hitchens, 2012). This research paper will focus on the mortality rate of Haiti. Haiti is a Central American and Caribbean country, but it is ranked among the developing countries. It is a nation that has a relatively high mortality rate, making it suitable for this research.
Location/Geography
Haiti is a Caribbean country that borders Cuba on one side and the Dominican Republic on the other side. It is west of Hispaniola. Haiti is one of the largest islands in the Greater Antilles, ranking second. It also happens to be the third-largest country in the Caribbean. The country also has a relatively long coastline. The reason for this long coastline is its shape, which is said to be a ‘horseshoe’ shape. The coastline is the second-longest in the region, with a length of 1,771km. Haiti lies at the center of latitudes 18° and 20°N and the longitudes 71° and 75°W (Coupeau, 2009). The land surface is dominated by mountains, although there are valleys, as well as coastal plains. Haiti is located in a tropical area. However, there are variations in the weather, based on attitude changes.
Population
Haiti has a relatively low population of about 10 million. The average population per square kilometer is 350 people (Coupeau, 2009). Most of the people live in the urban centers; hence, these areas are more concentrated compared to the rural areas. The coastal plains, as well as the valley regions, are also relatively highly concentrated. About half of the total population is made up of young people aged below 20 years. It is also important to know that most of the people in the country are black Africans. They are the descendants of the Africans who were slaves in the early years (Coupeau, 2009). Others are the descendants of people who settled there after the First and the Second World Wars. There are many Haitians who live in the United States of America, in Canada, Cuba, Jamaica, France, and the Dominican Republic, as well as other nearby nations. In the United States, it is estimated that the population consists of at least 880,000 Haitians. At least 300,000 people from Haiti live in Cuba (Coupeau, 2009). Over half a million reside in the Dominican Republic, while about 100,000 are settled in Canada. About 160,000 live away in both France and The Bahamas (Coupeau, 2009).
Government
Haiti is a nation whose government is semi-presidential. It is a multiparty nation. The president of the nation is elected by the populace during a general election. The president is the head of state. The president appoints the prime minister, who in turn heads the government. They both exercise executive power (Coupeau, 2009). The legislative powers are conferred to the national assembly, which has 2 chambers. The government system of Haiti was implemented in the year 1987. The politics of Haiti have been hit by many challenges, such that there have been a total of 32 revolutions (“Haiti crisis: Anti-Martelly”, 2014).
Economy
Haiti does not have a very strong economy compared to other nations like the US. The purchasing power parity of Haiti is approximately $11 billion. The gross domestic product is about US$1200 (USAID, 2015). Haiti was ranked at position 145, according to the UNHDI in the year 2010 (USAID, 2015). About 57.3% of the people living in Haiti were underprivileged in three Human Development Index measures. Haiti is highly dependent on foreign aid, given that foreign aid makes up about 30 to 40 percent of the country’s budget (USAID, 2015). Out of the foreign aid, the US donates the most, while Canada falls second and the European Union third. The trade deficit of Haiti is high; it stood at $3 billion in the year 2011, which translated to 41% of the GDP (Coupeau, 2009). Most of the people in Haiti are low income earners. The World Factbook: Haiti (2014) records show that over 75% of the people live on or below $2 dollars a day (USAID, 2015). There is a shortage of skilled labor and many people in the country are not employed, or they are underemployed. More than half of the population is comprised of farmers, but the country imports most of its foodstuffs. In fact, it imports up to 80% of its rice (USAID, 2015).
State of Health
Haiti is one of those countries that have a very low ranking in the world when it comes to the state of health. A fraction of about 0.8 of the people is made up of low income earners. As a result, they do not have sufficient food, leading to malnutrition related problems. Over half of the population does not have food security (UNICEF, 2013). The situation is bad to an extent that half of the children in the country are undersize as a result of lack of enough food. The sanitation systems are not enough, while most people are not able to access health services and they lack enough food. Most people in Haiti have no access to water, yet water is a necessity for human survival. This puts the Haitians’ health in danger (Human Rights Watch, 2014). Most people in Haiti do not have potable water.
According to an estimate by the World Health Organization (2015), only less than 50% of the people get the recommended vaccinations. It means that most of the people are not protected from diseases, leaving them highly susceptible to preventable diseases. Haiti has a very low portion of budget that is spent on health care, compared to the western countries. It actually ranks last (USAID, 2015). Other than the African countries, Haiti is the leading nation in the incidence of HIV and AIDS. Many women give birth without the help of trained personnel, as they cannot access or afford the services of trained personnel. This leads to an increase in the number of deaths at birth. Life expectancy is approximately 63 years (World Health Organization, 2015).
Haiti is a nation that is not short of violence; there have been cases of violence, most of the times leading to people losing lives. In the recent days, for instance, there have been protests from the citizens who are demanding the resignation of the current president (“Haiti crisis: Anti-Martelly”, 2014). The reason for these protests is that the President has failed to call for an election, which should have been conducted back in the year 2011. The pressure from the citizens led to the resignation of the Prime Minister, Mr. Laurent Lamothe. A new Prime Minister was later appointed, but he also faces a challenge due to the instability in the current government (McFadden, 2015).
Culture/ Traditional Medicine
The culture of Haiti is highly influenced by that of the French, Africans, and the Spaniards. However, much of the culture is made up of the indigenous Taino culture. There are many people from different cultures who reside on the island of Hispaniola. This has led to a mixture of cultures in the region. The traditions of Haiti, as well, have been shaped and influenced greatly by the immigrants. The nation uses traditional medicine to treat some of the diseases. It is reported that there are about 123 species of plants that are used as medicine. The plants are classified into 112 genera and 63 families (Volpato, Godinez, Beyra & Barreto, 2009). These plants have been used traditionally as medicine and they are still in use today. The herbs either ingested, while some of them are applied to the external parts of the body to cure various diseases. There are reported 22 herbal mixtures (Volpato et al., 2009).
Healthcare System and Delivery
Governmental Health-Related Agencies: Among the agencies that provide health care in the country include the World Health Organization, the United Nations World Food Programme, UNICEF, as well as the Haitian Ministry of Health. However, it should be noted that these agencies have not been able to give quality health care to the Haitians.
Healthcare Personnel: The number of health care personnel is very low. It is estimated that in a population of 100,000 people, only 11 nurses and 25 physicians are available to attend to them (World Health Organization, 2015).
Nursing Education System and Accreditation: Haiti offers a diploma curriculum in nursing, which is a 3-year curriculum. The nurses are prepared to work in hospitals. Some nurses specialize in midwifery, while others specialize in HIV care. However, there are no formal programs in more advanced fields like pediatrics and administration (Garfield, & Berryman, 2012). It is only in 2014 that less than 12 nurses received the first M. S. Nursing from the State University of Haiti. The Michigan based Haiti Nursing Foundation supports nursing education in Haiti.
Nursing Associations: There is no nursing association in Haiti.
Health Priorities Based on Nurses and Doctors
The health priorities of Haiti as at now would be to ensure that at least people have access to the basic health needs, such as clean water, sanitation, good nutrition, and food security. The global health organizations should play a bigger role in ensuring that the people of Haiti have access to health care (World Health Organization, 2015). This would reduce the number of deaths that result from diseases that are preventable.
Nursing Implications
The nurses in the country are insufficient. Moreover, they are not able to serve the population sufficiently. However, they can still play a role in addressing the health care needs. For instance, the nurses should conduct education on how people can maintain hygiene with the limited resources they have. They should also push to ensure that there is more access to clean water, as well as sanitation. Nurses can also create mobile health centers, whereby they can move to the rural areas where people have limited or no access to health care and offer them health care services.
References
Coupeau, S. (2009). The history of Haiti. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Garfield, R. M., & Berryman, E. (2012). Nursing and nursing education in Haiti. Nursing Outlook, 60(1), 16-20.
Haiti crisis: Anti-Martelly protest turns violent. (2014,). BBC. Web.
Hitchens, C. (2012). Mortality. New York, NY: Atlantic Books Ltd.
Human Rights Watch. World Report 2014: Haiti. Web.
McFadden, D. (2015). Haiti’s new prime minister faces instability, protests. The Washington Times. Web.
The World Factbook: Haiti. (2014). Web.
UNICEF (2013). At a glance: Haiti. Web.
USAID (2015). Global health: Haiti. Web.
Volpato, G., Godinez, D., Beyra, A., & Barreto, A. (2009). Uses of medicinal plants by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagüey, Cuba. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 5(16).
World Health Organization (2015). Global health expenditure database. Web.