Red Cross Cooperation Renewed in Haiti, Dominican Republic

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) played a catalytic role in bringing representatives of the Haitian and Dominican Red Cross societies together with health officials from both countries to discuss joint efforts to improve health conditions, with a focus on border communities.

Participants in the May 22-24 meeting, held in Barahona, Dominican Republic, included the presidents and other officers of the Dominican Red Cross and the Haitian Red Cross, national- and provincial-level ministry of health officials from both countries, PAHO's country representative for the Dominican Republic, and technical staff from the respective PAHO country offices, as well as the ambassador of the Dominican Republic for Haitian affairs, the regional representative of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and members of the Red Cross societies of France, Germany, Norway, Spain, and the United States.

Besides economic and migration issues, Haiti and the Dominican Republic share a number of key health concerns and in the past have mounted major joint health efforts, including mass vaccination campaigns following an outbreak of vaccine-derived poliovirus in 2000-01 and island-wide efforts to control tuberculosis in 2005-06.

During the three-day meeting in May, participants analyzed the countries' most important common health concerns and agreed to work together in the following areas:

• Malaria, dengue, and filariasis, with a focus on public education, elimination of mosquito habitats, training of community health workers, and distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets.
• Tuberculosis, emphasizing implementation of the directly observed therapy short course (DOTS) strategy, identification of suspect cases, active case-finding, and training of community health workers.
• HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, focusing on condom promotion and responsible sexual behavior, psycho-social support for patients through home visits, promotion of voluntary testing, and training of community health workers.
• Mother-child health, including promotion of prompt recognition of warning signs during pregnancy, delivery and after birth; early identification of high-risk pregnancies; promotion of 16 Key Family Practices of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy; iron and folic acid supplementation; training of health-care workers; and mandatory reporting of maternal and infant deaths.
• Immunization, with emphasis on social mobilization, assessment of coverage, vaccination campaigns, and strengthening of vaccination in health centers in border communities.
• Water and sanitation, including mass use of alternative technologies, strengthening of infrastructure and expanded service coverage, and human resources training.
• Health education and promotion, including promotion of personal and collective hygiene and implementation of strategies for healthy communities and municipalities, healthy schools, healthy housing, safe water, and primary environmental care.

Participants also agreed to name a binational committee charged with developing an operational plan to guide action in these areas. It will include representatives of the Red Cross national societies, ministries of health, and PAHO offices in the two countries. The PAHO-Red Cross meeting was the first of its kind between the two Red Cross societies in Hispaniola since 2003 and the first involving Red Cross and health officials from both countries. It was organized by PAHO's country office in the Dominican Republic with support from the Red Cross.