Management Sciences for Health in Haiti: Thirty-Five Years of Progress

Management Sciences for Health in Haiti: Thirty-Five Years of Progress

The five-year anniversary of the Haitian earthquake brings Haiti to the forefront of international development conversations once again. Much of the dialogue has focused on the setbacks of large-scale infrastructure and rebuilding projects, but there has been important progress in some sectors, especially the health sector. With greater awareness of the progress in Haiti, US decision-makers and the press will be better able to recognize the outstanding work of the Haitian Ministry of Public Health and Population (Ministry of Health), the Haitian people, and their international partners.

In December 2014, United States Congressional staffers (delegates) joined staff from Management Sciences for Health (MSH), a nonprofit global health organization working to save lives and improve health, on a five-day study tour to examine the US government’s health efforts in Haiti. As the tour participants saw first-hand, much has been gained and there is much to hope for in the nation of Haiti. This report provides an overview of MSH’s work, supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) over the past three decades. It illuminates the progress in the Haitian health sector witnessed by delegates— progress that is founded on the principle of health as a human right that, in turn, contributes to social and economic stability.