October 28, 2003
Washington, DC – Citing a need to address the medical and humanitarian crisis crippling Haiti, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) today introduced The New Partnership for Haiti Act of 2003, H.R. 3386, a bill that would execute an environmentally-sound approach to rebuild and develop basic sanitation, water, and health infrastructure systems for Haiti.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. 80% of the population lives in abject poverty; 76% of Haiti’s children under the age of five are underweight or experience stunted growth; and 63% of Haitians are undernourished. Its medical crisis is of huge proportions. 90% of all HIV/AIDS cases in the Caribbean are from Haiti; there is only one doctor for every 10,000 people, and in great part because of this shortage of medical care, its infant mortality rate stands at 93 deaths per 1000 live births.
The New Partnership for Haiti Act seeks to restore a partnership between the United States and Haiti, a relationship that has soured under the Bush Administration. The bill would address the impediments to adequate medical care and basic necessities for millions of Haitians by providing the resources necessary to build new roads; offering water treatment solutions; and developing sanitation systems.
“We have a moral imperative to help the Haitian people survive this humanitarian and medical crisis,” said Lee. “This bill provides that aid. As a Congress, we must work together to make this happen.”
One other feature of the Partnership for Haiti Act calls for a Peace Corps-like pilot program that would provide the means for American doctors, scientists, and engineers interested in participating in the development process for Haiti to live and work there in partnership with Haitian non-governmental organizations, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
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Congresswoman Barbara Lee Introduces The New Partnership for Haiti Act of 2003
Bill would partner US and Haitian professionals to rebuild Haiti health infrastructure
Washington, DC – Citing a need to address the medical and humanitarian crisis crippling Haiti, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) today introduced The New Partnership for Haiti Act of 2003, H.R. 3386, a bill that would execute an environmentally-sound approach to rebuild and develop basic sanitation, water, and health infrastructure systems for Haiti.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. 80% of the population lives in abject poverty; 76% of Haiti’s children under the age of five are underweight or experience stunted growth; and 63% of Haitians are undernourished. Its medical crisis is of huge proportions. 90% of all HIV/AIDS cases in the Caribbean are from Haiti; there is only one doctor for every 10,000 people, and in great part because of this shortage of medical care, its infant mortality rate stands at 93 deaths per 1000 live births.
The New Partnership for Haiti Act seeks to restore a partnership between the United States and Haiti, a relationship that has soured under the Bush Administration. The bill would address the impediments to adequate medical care and basic necessities for millions of Haitians by providing the resources necessary to build new roads; offering water treatment solutions; and developing sanitation systems.
“We have a moral imperative to help the Haitian people survive this humanitarian and medical crisis,” said Lee. “This bill provides that aid. As a Congress, we must work together to make this happen.”
One other feature of the Partnership for Haiti Act calls for a Peace Corps-like pilot program that would provide the means for American doctors, scientists, and engineers interested in participating in the development process for Haiti to live and work there in partnership with Haitian non-governmental organizations, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
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