Project HOPE Medical Team in Haiti Responds to Urgent Health Needs after Earthquake and Strong Aftershock Rocked the Island
Millwood, VA – Project HOPE is deploying a medical team to areas in Haiti affected by the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that struck the near the northwestern city of Port-au-Paix on Oct. 6, killing at least 14 people and injuring 200 others.
Haiti was also struck by a 5.2 magnitude aftershock on Sunday. The government has declared a state of emergency and appealed for international aid for survivors and to help hospitals that were damaged by the disaster.
“Project HOPE responded to the 2010 earthquake and we are still here to support the people of Haiti through this difficult time,” said Andrea Dunne-Sosa, Regional Director of the Americas for Project HOPE.
The medical NGO’s team of doctors and nurses will bring emergency kits containing basic supplies such as bandages, medications for pain management and anitbiotics to medical centers that are receiving the injured but lack supplies for this emergency.
The earthquake was the largest of its kind since the 2010 earthquake that killed an estimated 250,000 people.
“Our hearts go out to the Haitian people who have had to cope with so much since the 2010 earthquake. We know the sense of fear never really goes away for many Haitians and once again they are suffering from the affects of this earthquake and the anxiety and fear of aftershocks,” said Dunne-Sosa.
Project HOPE has responded to almost every major disaster worldwide since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The NGO specializes in building long-term capacity after the initial shock of manmade or natural disasters has passed, and Project HOPE has left a rich legacy of health infrastructure around the world, helping establish hospitals and clinics, train health care professional and assess needs in locations as diverse as China and the Dominican Republic.
