Tuberculosis (TB), a disease which most commonly affects the lungs, is one of the deadliest in the world, killing around 1.5 million people a year and infecting 1 out of 4 individuals globally. Although the incidence of TB has decreased over the past 40 years, Haiti continues to have the highest rate of TB cases in the western hemisphere.
Dr. Rony MD, OBGYN, MGSS, the Medical Director at Grace Children’s Hospital (GCH), shared some history about Haiti’s fight against TB, stating, “It began in Haiti in 1967 when what was then called the Child Care Foundation (though now International Child Care) received authorization from the Haitian government to build a hospital for children with tuberculosis. This was the origin of Grace Children’s Hospital. It became the very first pediatric hospital dedicated to tuberculosis in the country and began working alongside the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) to work to control TB in Haiti”.
The history of TB in Haiti was dramatically affected in 1972, when ICC launched a major anti-tuberculosis campaign, known as the Crusade Against Tuberculosis (CAT), which vaccinated the country’s population with BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guerin). As a result, severe forms of tuberculosis in Haiti were significantly reduced. In 1982, ICC was awarded the distinguished designation of National Public Utility by the Haitian health authorities.
In 1989, the Haitian government developed the first national tuberculosis control program. The main donor of this plan, The World Bank, insisted that the Haitian state invite ICC in to help with this program. In 2021, ICC is still working as an essential partner of MSPP to help supervise TB screening and treatment centers across the country.
In addition to screening for and treating TB, GCH is active in the ongoing prevention of infection. The hospital’s active immunization program for infants and children, which vaccinates over 1,000 children each month, assures that all newborns they care for are vaccinated with BCG. Although active TB is usually a disease of the lungs, most commonly presenting as pneumonia on x-ray, in children it can become very severe and invasive, and can cause meningitis, bone infections, and diseases of other organs. Although BCG does not prevent all cases of TB in children and adults, it does provide significant protection, especially preventing the majority of children from contracting TB meningitis and death. The vaccine is no longer needed in the US because of the lower incidence of TB, but in Haiti, this vaccination is still essential.
A dangerous threat to the control of TB is drug resistance, which is increasing and requires expertise and a strong organization to manage. According to Dr. Rony, “For the past two years, GCH has been selected by the Haitian Ministry of Health and Population to provide outpatient management of patients with MDRB (multidrug resistant tuberculosis). GCH is among the first organizations (if not the first) to provide ‘total outpatient’ care for patients with MDR-TB. Although ICC /GCH now has other partners in the fight against TB in Haiti, it is proud to be the pioneer”.
ICC GCH National Director Dr. Josette Bijou is committed to Haiti reaching the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of elimination of TB by 2030. We thank our donors as all who are working to help support the work at GCH are partners in reaching this goal.