Zanmi Lasante (Partners in Health)

Charon Hribar/Liz Theoharis/Troy Messanger

1/25/09

Zanmi Lasante (“partners in health” in Creole) was founded in 1983 when the local priest in Cange, Father Fritz Lafontant, was joined by first-year Harvard medical student Paul Farmer and 18-year-old Ophelia Dahl.  Together they formed a community based health clinic.  Now Father Lafontant continues to pastor the Episcopal Church here in Cange, Dahl directs the international work of Partners in Health, and Farmer continues to work here and in hospitals around the world.

We at Union know Farmer and Dahl because they were awarded Union’s highest distinction, the Union Medal, in 2005. Many of us had a chance to meet them and hear about their exciting work.  The Poverty Initiative organized a special session with them, community leaders and seminarians when at Union and invited Tracy Kidder, author of Mountains Beyond Mountains, to speak in preparation for the Union Medal Ceremony. Little did we know we would be visiting the beautiful complex a few years later. PIH’s pioneering work in treating drug-resistant TB and HIV/AIDS in poor communities has now been extended to sub-Saharan Africa, Peru, Russia, and elsewhere.

The scope of Zanmi Lasante is stunning.  The beautifully landscaped grounds include a 104-bed hospital with operating rooms, adult and pediatric wards, infectious disease center, women’s health clinic, ophthalmology clinic, blood bank, school, housing for workers and staff, and the chapel. We spent almost five hours with Ali Lutz, Dr. Léandre, Dr. Raymonville, Dr. Joasil, and a local priest (Father Lafonant was actually in Sewanee, TN receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of the South) hearing about their work, walking the grounds, and sharing wonderful Haitian food.

What we saw:

 Students in their final year of high school– gathered in two classrooms – Saturday afternoon – complex trigonometry questions filled the chalk boards – preparing for upcoming national tests. 

A pediatric ward where an abandoned little girl – about a year and a half years old – cried for a moment of attention – Terri held her for a little while before returning her to her crib for a nap.  Three incubators filled with tiny premature babies.  A little girl, maybe 5 years old -  swollen belly (had I not looked up to see the child’s face, I might have mistaken it for a pregnant woman’s stomach).  Three young children from the same family – all being treated for Typhoid.  One small boy sick with meningitis because his family had no access to a vaccination. 

In front of one building – local workers carefully separating beans in preparation for a product they make to treat severe malnutrition—a “peanut butter” made with peanuts, rice, beans, vitamins, and oil.  

The program is an excellent example of their community-based approach.  It employs local people on its own peanut farm and in addition guarantees to purchase all the produce of 50 local peanut farmers. 

An arts and crafts center filled with colorful fabric, baskets made with recycled rope, dolls crafted out of recycled water bottles, and metal work – a traditional form of Haitian art. 

A spirit filled chapel with one crucifix depicting a black Christ over the altar and another metal crucifix toward the entrance to the chapel which we were told was an artistic inspiration of Father Lafontant. 

Trees – everywhere!  The region of Cange 20 years ago had been severely deforested.  The beautiful trees that shade the complex today make it nearly impossible to imagine the barren, dusty plateau that existed when Father Lafontant first arrived in the 60’s.

What we learned:

That PIH/ZL employs 3000 people in Haiti, 1500 of them as community health workers to be a first line of defense. They have also established reforestation, agricultural, water and other social support projects. In addition, they work with the ministry of public health to support clinics throughout the country.  Last year, Zanmi Lasante recorded more than 2 million patient visits.

ZL believes that everyone should have access to health care.  As a condition of working with the Public Ministry, ZL is required to charge for it’s service.  There solution to this requirement in a country where a majority of the population makes less than $2 a day: They charge 25 Haitian goudes for lifetime service (about 60 cents US).  Oh, that is, except in the case of infectious disease, pregnancy, emergency, inability to pay,….  If one of these exceptions apply to you, the service is free. 

The philosophy of PIH/ZL is that we all have the human right to health. Health care includes adequate living conditions like access to water, housing, education, food, and all forms of health care services. At the same time that they meet immediate needs, they are working to get at the root cause of poverty and build up sustainable solutions.

Resources recommended by Ali Lutz (Haiti Project Coordinator):

Damning the Flood: Haiti and the Politics of Containment, Peter Hallward

“Wòch nan Soley: The Denial of the Right to Water in Haiti” can be found at www.pih.org/inforesources/news/IDB_Haiti_report.html

Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor, Paul Farmer

Infections and Inequalities: The Modern Plagues, Paul Farmer

From Outrage to Courage: Women Taking Action for Health and Justice, Anne Firth and Paul Farmer

Aids and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame, Paul Farmer

The Uses of Haiti, Paul Farmer, Jonathan Kozol, and Noam Chomsky

 

Advertisement