In Haiti, 69 children out of every 1,000 born alive die before their fifth birthdays. Many of those deaths are from diseases that are preventable by vaccination.
Still, the country has one of the lowest immunization rates _ 58 percent _ in the Western Hemisphere.
"You don't really need bricks and mortar to immunize a child. You can immunize a child under a tree," said Anuradha Gupta, deputy CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. "It takes really very little."
Worried about Haiti's low immunization coverage and high child mortality rate, Gupta will lead a three-day mission to Port-au-Prince Tuesday to push Haiti's new government to increase its budget for immunizations and health. Gupta will be joined by representatives from other health-financing donor groups including the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, UNICEF and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Gupta hopes that with a doctor in charge of the government _ the new prime minister, Jack Guy Lafontant, is a gastroenterologist _ Haitian leaders will recognize the importance of spending more of their meager resources on health.
"The fact they have new leaders, new people at the helm of affairs �� this really gives us hope and optimism that we can have a renewed dialogue," she said.
Gavi, a public-private international group, has committed almost $50 million to Haiti until 2020 as part of its commitment to increase access to immunizations in poor countries. Among the vaccines it has supported is the one for rotavirus, a deadly form of diarrhea, is among the. It has also supported several cholera vaccine campaigns since the deadly waterborne virus was introduced by United Nations troops 10 months after Haiti's 2010 earthquake.
New commitments include a $20 million grant for health-systems strengthening, and technical support for the next five years.
Despite the money already spent and various vaccination campaigns over the years in Haiti, a high number of children and infants die from major killers like diarrhea and pneumonia.
As a result of drops in routine immunization coverage, for example, diphtheria outbreaks have increased since 2014. There were 247 probable cases of the easily preventable disease. Of them, 107 were lab-confirmed cases, with 39 deaths as of May. In the majority of cases, said Frederique Tissandier of Gavi, the vaccination status is unknown.
Although cases have spread to six of the 10 regional departments, the Artibonite, Center and West departments have been the most affected, Tissandier said, "which is not surprising as routine coverage in those three departments show the highest numbers of (undervaccinated) children for the same period."
Gupta said Gavi and its partners are seeking a "strong political commitment for a better performing immunization program so that children actually benefit from life-saving vaccines." The group also wants to have "a constructive and positive dialogue" with Lafontant and President Jovenel Moise, she said, on "stepped-up domestic investments."
In June, the World Bank, which has also help finance Gavi's vaccinations in Haiti, echoed concerns about Haiti's declining health spending after a study by one of its economists. The study found that Haiti spends less on health _$13 per capita a year _ for its nearly 11 million citizens than either the Dominican Republic or Cuba, and most low-income countries. The Dominican Republic spends $180 while Cuba spends $781. The average for most low-income countries is $15, according to the study.
The World Bank study also found that the Haitian government's health spending has been sharply declining for the past 20 years, from 16.6 percent of a $2 billion budget to 4.4 percent of the current $1.8 billion operating budget.
