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HEI/SBH's Hurricane Response

A young woman grimaces as she takes an oral cholera vaccine

Oral cholera vaccines help save countless lives in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.

On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew slammed into Haiti’s southern peninsula, causing massive, widespread devastation in a region already struggling with poverty, hunger, and a health system that barely functioned in the best of times.

In the first six weeks after the storm, SBH stepped up as the leading healthcare provider in the devastated region, with the only functioning referral hospital available to all of the people affected. Our hospital staff saw over 8,000 patients in those first six weeks, and the inpatient wards and NICU were over capacity for weeks. The team at SBH is working incredibly hard to make sure that every person who comes to us receives the high-quality, compassionate care that has made us a model for healthcare across Haiti.

Mens ward
Womens ward

In this time of crisis, SBH is also working outside of the hospital to provide care and aid to people in our communities and across the South. In response to the overwhelming need, HEI/SBH conducted the following relief efforts:

A nurse takes notes as she provides care in a crowded room at a mobile clinic.

Sent mobile clinic teams to some of the hardest-hit areas of the southern peninsula. In Les Cayes, the team saw over 350 patients living in a makeshift shelter at a local school. And in Tiburon, which was directly hit by the hurricane’s 145 mph winds, they saw almost 650 people in three days of clinics. Many of these patients had not seen a doctor since the hurricane.

A man carries a huge bag of rice on his shoulder; behind him, there are countless stacked bags of rice.

Received donated rice, beans, and cooking oil to distribute to members of our community who lost their crops. This emergency aid will help ward off famine until the next harvest.

A relief worker distributes USAID-branded boxes to a group of five school-aged children. The children stand behind him in blue school uniforms.

Provided supplies and education to ensure people have access to safe drinking water.

A woman bends at the waist to unfurl a grey USAID-branded tarp. She stands in front of a pile of clothes.

Distributed tarps to provide shelter for families whose homes were damaged or destroyed, and schools whose students were able to start classes again with a tarp roof over their heads.

A young woman grimaces as she takes an oral cholera vaccine

Distributed the oral cholera vaccine for the first time ever on the Southern Peninsula, as part of the Ministry of Health’s cholera vaccination campaign. Our teams in their neon green shirts have so far protected 20,000 people in our area from this horrible and dangerous disease—and they are still out in the field this week, reaching even more remote communities.

All of these efforts were possible because of the support of over 2,200 people who have donated to HEI/SBH to help southern Haiti in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. If you were one of them, Thank You. Our staff has been honored and encouraged to have you standing beside them in spirit as they travel the southern peninsula and care for patients at SBH.

We could not do it without you, and we hope you will continue to follow our progress over the coming months as we continue our hurricane response work. 

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