Health Plan for Haiti Has a Population

Health Plan for Haiti

Haiti has a population of approximately ten million people. According to the 2009 WHO statistics, the gross national income per capita was $1.220. The life expectancy at birth in terms of years for females and males is 64/61 respectively. In 1000 births (children under five years), 76 children have s probability of dying. In a population of 1000 people, 223 females and 258 males have a probability of dying when between the ages of 15 and 60 years. The 2011 statistics indicate that Haiti's total expenditure per capita was $94. Besides, the total expense on health as a GDP percentage was eight. With such statistics, solid and effective health plans should be put in place. This is a suggested health plan for the oral health of children below the age of twelve years.

Although oral health may seem as though it is not a serious health challenge as other health problems, ignoring it may lead to the emergence of other dependent health challenges. Estupin-a-n-Day, Lafontant and Acun-a, (2011) showed that the observance of proper oral health among children was to be prioritized in the elimination of recurrent health problems in calamity-prone Haiti. These authors continue to put across strategies that can be incorporated into the government initiated plans in order to handle the oral health challenge among children.

The first strategy is to equip many people with health information related to oral health (Babcock et al., 2012). This includes equipping the already existing medical practitioners and healthcare givers. It is evident that Haiti runs shortage of medical personnel. Training new personnel would be a fundamental step towards handling oral healthcare in the country. Equipping the relevant parties with knowledge is one of the key steps of eliminating any form of challenge whether heath related or otherwise (Estupin-a-n-Day, Lafontant, Acun-a, 2011).

The training of medical personnel should be adjoined with the training of the public. This is not only limited to training the parents or guardians of the children, but it should also be accompanied by training and equipping the children with oral health knowledge. In many cases, the newly trained personnel should take the initiative of training the public. However, the concerned initiators of the health plan may train the health practitioners concurrently with the public depending on the situation at and (Ivers & Walton, 2012). At the end of the implementation process, the whole country should have knowledge about oral in children.

Liu, Sullivan, Khan, Sachs, and Singh (2011) praised the efficient and effective of using the already existing channels during the implementation of the plan. This strategy allows the interested parties to utilize the funds efficiently. The recommended strategy in this plan is to equip the already existing medical facilities. This is much easier than planting new facilities and investing with new resources. It includes encouraging the personnel to speak about oral health. Numerous campaigns have been held relating to the diseases considered more catastrophic. Such is HIV / AIDS. This has led institutions to concentrate more on such diseases while ignoring or overlooking those that are considered as minor such as oral health. Placing more emphasis on the latter will bear similar results as the former.

The initiators can also collaborate with companies that make business out of oral hygiene. The Colgate Company has greatly played significant roles in promoting oral health globally. The initiators can collaborate with Colgate in order to implement this strategy. This is not only limited to Colgate. Other local oral hygiene product making business should also be encouraged to come aboard and carry out this initiative.

In addition to equipping the already existing facilities, the other strategy entails collaborating with willing institutions (Ivers & Walton, 2012). Collaborating with schools and other institutions that are responsible for handling children and their guardians will play a noteworthy role in the realization of the goals. This also includes collaborating with private health institutions that will equip and handle the public with their oral health. It is relevant to note that oral health includes equipping the people about oral health and treating the emerging and existing issues (Estupin-a-n-Day, Lafontant, Acun-a, 2011).

The other strategy entails gaining the funds to implement the other strategies. As indicated, the Haitian economy cannot handle this issue solely. It needs assistance for as many parties as possible. UNICEF is a program from the United Nations that exclusively handles health in children and mothers. Additionally, the program targets developing countries such as Haiti. UNICEF not only initiates projects related to the health of the mother and child, but it also funds existing projects from interested initiators (Babcock et al., 2012). Gaining donations from other state governments is also another way of gaining funds to carry out the strategies indicated in this plan. The partnering strategy also caters for the funding challenge. The initiators should explore the partnering strategy with private entities and other entities that are not based locally.

The other strategy entails evaluating the progress of the strategies instituted (Liu et al., 2011). The aim is not only to put strategies in place, but also to evaluate the progress or impact of the strategies in place. The plan is to carry out oral health awareness and treatment in phases. The phases will be carried out in phases of three months. The other strategy is to implement a system that will provide oral treatment for children for free or at subsidized prices, especially for the poorer citizens. Similar progress evaluation will be carried out quarterly (Babcock et al., 2012).

The initiators should place emphasis on making individuals understand the importance of oral health. Poor oral health in children may translate to adult oral health challenges. The dependent nature of one tooth on another significantly plays a key role in this chain-like destruction. It is will be effective in case the government initiates the health plan. This will bolster the chances of attracting funds from both local and international institutions (Estupin-a-n-Day, Lafontant, Acun-a, 2011).