At a Glance: GlobeMed at Truman State University has partnered with Maison de Naissance, a birthing home in Lanarge, Haiti and has supported vital projects during the course of the year. Their efforts are aimed at making valuable contributions to the capacities of a birthing home to effectively address maternal mortality and child health in rural Haiti and Dominican Republic.

Location: Larnage, Haiti & La Romana, Dominican Republic

Key fact: Haiti's neonatal mortality rate of 34 deaths per 1,000 live births is the highest in the Western Hemisphere and among the highest in the world.

Our Partner: The Healthy Mothers-Healthy Babies Foundation (HM-HB) is a non-profit maternal health organization based in Kansas City, Missouri.  HM-HB founded a birthing center, Maison de Naissance (House of Birth) in Larnage, Haiti, home to the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the Western Hemisphere.  By offering the services of a modern maternity center, women and children in rural southwestern Haiti now have access to the care they need through a culturally appropriate and friendly birthing home. 

In addition to their work in Haiti, HM-HB has just begun a new program in La Romana, Dominican Republic.  "Enciende Una Luz" (Light a Candle) is a maternal-child health education project in which traveling workshops on topics relevant to maternal-child health are presented to communities of sugar cane workers (bateyes).  These bateyes are primarily composed of migrants from nearby Haiti seeking better wages.  In providing effective health education and improving health knowledge, community members will become better informed and more equipped to make health decisions and take actions to protect and improve the health and lives of pregnant women and children.

Our Project: As part of a new initiative to increase healthcare access, GlobeMed at Truman currently aims to fund two Market Clinics.  These portable facilities allow MN nurses and health care workers to service an area of 100,000 Haitian mothers and children.  By going from village to village, MN is able to bring care directly to the rural population that needs it most.  This innovative approach increases access to prenatal care, vaccinations, and life-saving vitamin A supplements.  Mothers will check in at the screened outer room, where baby exams and vaccinations can take place; the inner room provides additional privacy for the actual prenatal visit. By using the Market Clinic method, Maison de Naissance is able to overcome many of the barriers to connection with the healthcare community that rural Haitians face as part of their daily lives.  MN becomes a part of their marketplace, with Haitian providers giving care to Haitian women and their babies.