Haiti Political Blog

Merry Christmas to everyone. Enjoy your Holiday with all the great events on RockMasters.com.

Here are the Highlights for this week

WED & THU: Catch artist Mr RJ with upcoming artist St. Louis at Spider Cafe in Ct on Wed. & Brasserie Creole on Thu.

FRIDAY: We start with T-Vice at SOBs. Then there is Soiree Antillaise at Labadee Manoir in Jamaica Finally there is Soiree Dansante at Ambiance Cafe in Brooklyn.

SATURDAY: The main event is Bizi/Carimi at Irvington Manor in NJ. Then T-Vice & Nu Look at Amazura. Also Labadee Manoir anniversary Gala takes place at Labadee Manoir. Finally, Deja Vue Saturdays at the Summit in Elmont; “Ladies & Gentlemen Night” at Ambiance Cafe in Brooklyn and Zouk Lovers Saturdays at Wells Club in Brooklyn.

SUNDAY: We welcome back BIZI for an encore performance at MySpace Sundays at Brasserie Creole. Then we have Hang out & Zenglen at Djumbala in Brooklyn. Finally, there is Gala Dominical at Labadee Manoir in Jamaica & Konpa Groove Sundays at TAJ in NYC.

MONDAY: Christmas Eve, we have Hangout & Zenglen in NJ at the Robert Treat Hotel. Then System Band at Ambiance Cafe in Brooklyn.

TUESDAY: Christmas day is celebrated with Kreyol La & Carimi at Amazura.
Go to the calendar below for details on all the upcoming events and have a great “RockMasters” weekend

Merry Christmas to everyone. Enjoy your Holiday with all the great events on RockMasters.com.

Here are the Highlights for this week

WED & THU: Catch artist Mr RJ with upcoming artist St. Louis at Spider Cafe in Ct on Wed. & Brasserie Creole on Thu.

FRIDAY: We start with T-Vice at SOBs. Then there is Soiree Antillaise at Labadee Manoir in Jamaica Finally there is Soiree Dansante at Ambiance Cafe in Brooklyn.

SATURDAY: The main event is Bizi/Carimi at Irvington Manor in NJ. Then T-Vice & Nu Look at Amazura. Also Labadee Manoir anniversary Gala takes place at Labadee Manoir. Finally, Deja Vue Saturdays at the Summit in Elmont; “Ladies & Gentlemen Night” at Ambiance Cafe in Brooklyn and Zouk Lovers Saturdays at Wells Club in Brooklyn.

SUNDAY: We welcome back BIZI for an encore performance at MySpace Sundays at Brasserie Creole. Then we have Hang out & Zenglen at Djumbala in Brooklyn. Finally, there is Gala Dominical at Labadee Manoir in Jamaica & Konpa Groove Sundays at TAJ in NYC.

MONDAY: Christmas Eve, we have Hangout & Zenglen in NJ at the Robert Treat Hotel. Then System Band at Ambiance Cafe in Brooklyn.

TUESDAY: Christmas day is celebrated with Kreyol La & Carimi at Amazura.
Go to the calendar below for details on all the upcoming events and have a great “RockMasters” weekend

By choosing the social sectors to be part of the nine members of the new Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), Rene Preval shows to the world his plan to reject Vodou completely during the coming elections and his remaining term in office.

Rene Preval named the new Council Tuesday December 11th, by presidential decree with the mission of organizing the senatorial (1/3) and elections at the collectivity level, which an obliged passage for the formation of the Permanent Electoral Council.

Resulting from the process of consultation which President Rene Préval engaged with various organized sectors of the civil society, the new council is made up of representative’s political parties and of most religion in Haiti except Vodou.

Also for the first time, popular organizations, generally of political Lavalas sensitivity, the female organizations and a representative of the handicapped officially made their entry in the electoral institution while the trade unions of workers and the university are kept aside.

Some political analysts are saying that Rene Preval and his political party “Lespwa” are not counting any more on the Vodou sector to win elections. They must have other tricks in their bags if they are going to win more senate seats in next year elections. While others analysts are saying the very famous Christians’ slogan in Haiti that it is because “Vodou is not an organized sector in Haiti”.

As for the Vodou organizations such as ZANTRAY and MILOKAN, Rene Preval and his political staff, have rejected Vodou as a social factor of growth and his preparing another campaign against the Vodou religion and his members.

The presidential decree naming the nine electoral advisers precise that in addition to the elections intended to provide the seats with ten Senators elected for two years and whose mandate will arrive in the long term second Monday of January, the new Electoral Council has also as a mandate to organize elections “to fill all other vacant elective stations or who could become it”.

Reginald Bailly

By choosing the social sectors to be part of the nine members of the new Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), Rene Preval shows to the world his plan to reject Vodou completely during the coming elections and his remaining term in office.

Rene Preval named the new Council Tuesday December 11th, by presidential decree with the mission of organizing the senatorial (1/3) and elections at the collectivity level, which an obliged passage for the formation of the Permanent Electoral Council.

Resulting from the process of consultation which President Rene Préval engaged with various organized sectors of the civil society, the new council is made up of representative’s political parties and of most religion in Haiti except Vodou.

Also for the first time, popular organizations, generally of political Lavalas sensitivity, the female organizations and a representative of the handicapped officially made their entry in the electoral institution while the trade unions of workers and the university are kept aside.

Some political analysts are saying that Rene Preval and his political party “Lespwa” are not counting any more on the Vodou sector to win elections. They must have other tricks in their bags if they are going to win more senate seats in next year elections. While others analysts are saying the very famous Christians’ slogan in Haiti that it is because “Vodou is not an organized sector in Haiti”.

As for the Vodou organizations such as ZANTRAY and MILOKAN, Rene Preval and his political staff, have rejected Vodou as a social factor of growth and his preparing another campaign against the Vodou religion and his members.

The presidential decree naming the nine electoral advisers precise that in addition to the elections intended to provide the seats with ten Senators elected for two years and whose mandate will arrive in the long term second Monday of January, the new Electoral Council has also as a mandate to organize elections “to fill all other vacant elective stations or who could become it”.

Reginald Bailly

Wyclef Jean and Akon team up with music executive Jimmy Rosemond to present the Yele Festival on December 15th, which will take place in Port au Prince, Capital of Haiti.

The Yele Festival is a free concert which will aim to raise awareness about Haiti’s much improved safety record and it’s growing appeal as a tourist destination. Two years ago Rosemond & Wyclef traveled to Citi Soleil in Haiti to bring exposure to the country’s political and economic plight; a trip which received much praise, commendation and media coverage. During their 2007 trip, Rosemond & Wyclef will visit local schools, where Rosemond will donate items including 5,000 shirts to children in the poorest areas

The idea for the Yele Fest came about when Wyclef, Akon & Rosemond came together with plans to give back to their respective countries. “I’ve always been involved in the upliftment of my people, Haitians and Africans are one” says Akon.

Wyclef and Akon will come together in an effort to help their respective countries- Akon will be supporting Wyclef by performing at the Yele Fest in his native country of Haiti and Wyclef will be supporting Akon by appearing at concert happening in Senegal in 2008 in a separate effort.

More details from HHNlive

Excerpt from The Pan American Health Organisation, released report “Health in the Americas 2007” in which they exposed the health situation in Haiti.

The Ministry of Public Health and Population relies on the primary health care strategy to attend to the health needs of the
population.Care is delivered through a basic package of services, including child, adolescent, and women’s health; emergency
medical and surgical care; communicable disease control; health education; environmental health; and provision of drinking
water and essential drugs. The provision of this basic package is still experimental, and limitations in national health programs
prevent them from providing maximum coverage.

Priority is given to programs to combat HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis; these programs receive support from financial institutions
working in the health sector. In addition, networks of NGOs and public and private health services have been developed to ensure
better compliance with the strategies and activities in effect. These networks are too incipient to guarantee an effective national
coverage, however.With regard to AIDS prevention, public private cooperation with NGOs is under way in aspects that range
from the implementation of five-year plans to serological sentinel surveillance and the prevention of perinatal transmission.As a result of a lack of organization and the absence of a performance evaluation system, the Expanded Program on Immunization was
unable to prevent the accumulation of a large number of susceptibles, which was associated with a 2001 measles epidemic.

Since 1991, the Ministry of Public Health and Population has conducted epidemiological surveillance of HIV. Four sentinel
studies of pregnant women yielded prevalence rates of 6.2% in 1993, 5.9% in 1996, 4.5% in 2000, and 3.1% in 2004. The decline
in the prevalence rates over the last decade does not necessarily mean that the risk itself has decreased. It is also noted that the
percentage of women under 20 years of age infected with the virus rose between 1996 and 2004.
A lymphatic filariasis program has demonstrated that it is possible to meet the regional objective of eliminating lymphatic
filariasis by the year 2010.

In 2004 and 2005, two joint vaccination campaigns to combat canine rabies were carried out by the Ministry of Health and the
Ministry of Agriculture. Some 100,000 dogs and cats were vaccinated in the capital, the Ouest department, and part of the Central Plateau, where the alert had been sounded. (Brazil offered 5,000 doses of the vaccine and PAHO/WHO furnished the logistics.)

The Ministry of Agriculture has sponsored vaccination efforts against anthrax, although activities have been sporadic and have
had little community participation. In 2004–2005, nearly one million animals were vaccinated against anthrax (FAO financing,
implementation by VETERIMED).
In 2005, a national public health laboratory was built. It began functioning in 2006, albeit with insufficient physical resources or
skilled human resources. Two pilot initiatives for sustainable development were launched in Port Salut and Aquin; public sanitation and solid waste disposal systems were developed in the two communes, benefiting some 250,000 people. In the Lison neighborhood in north Port-au- Prince, a public sanitation and storm drainage system was constructed.
The Ministry of Public Health and Population now has a Bureau for Health Promotion and Environmental Protection.
To improve sewage disposal, a project was initiated in 2005– 2006, which provides technical and financial assistance to the
community for building latrines.

Excerpt from The Pan American Health Organisation, released report “Health in the Americas 2007” in which they exposed the health situation in Haiti.

The Family

Constant relocation and emigration has contributed to a breakdown in the family structure in urban and rural areas. In
major cities, a single home may house several families, either because members have emigrated or because children have lost
their parents. In urban areas,48% of single parent households are headed by women, compared to 33.3% in rural areas. Only 45%
of children under 18 live with both parents.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Public Health and Population has a Bureau of Family Health, which works with UNFPA to ensure, among other things, that family planning supplies reach outlying warehouses.

Prenatal check-ups with a health professional (doctor,nurse,or nursing auxiliary) are steadily increasing, with 85% coverage of
pregnant women, in contrast to 67.7% coverage in 1995.Again according to the 2005–2006 survey (EMMUS IV), 60% of deliveries
nationwide are attended by a professional or a skilled midwife (74% in urban areas and 53% in rural areas), in contrast to 46%
in 1994. The fact that there are still so many women who die in childbirth should be cause for reflection, including concerns
about the skills of the personnel involved.

The fact that only 24.7% of deliveries take place in health facilities (2000–2001 survey [EMMUS III]) is probably more indicative of the real situation than the figure of deliveries attended by skilled personnel.

The Institute for Social Welfare and Research of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor provides some services to disadvantaged
and handicapped children. …

Children under 5 Years Old

Infant mortality estimates in Haiti are based on data from the Morbidity,Mortality, and Service Utilization surveys (EMMUS).

According to the preliminary report of the 2005–2006 Mortality, Morbidity, and Service Utilization Survey (EMMUS IV), 1 in 12 Haitian children die before their fifth birthday. The survey also found that acute respiratory infections and acute diarrheal diseases continue to be the most common health problems in children— 40% of children under 5 years old had acute respiratory infection symptoms or fever in the two weeks preceding the survey. However, only 20% of children had been taken for a consultation or to get help (20% in urban areas versus 18% in rural areas; and 28% among children whose mother had a secondary education versus 15% among those whose mother had no schooling).

Moreover, 24% of children under 5 years old had had one or more episodes of diarrhea in the two weeks preceding the survey, and
57% had been treated with oral rehydration therapy—an important increase in the use of this treatment as compared with the
previous survey period (2000–2001), in which the figure was 41%. The 2000–2001 survey (EMMUS III) found that 65.3% of
preschoolers were anemic in 2000.

Children 5–9 Years Old
According to data from the 2003 census, the estimated population 5–9 years old accounts for 13% of the total.With the country’s
level of poverty and the fact that 89% of the schools are private, 17% of school-aged children do not attend school and
12.5% have never even been enrolled. In this latter group, 42% were younger than 10 years old and 54% were girls.

Infectious and parasitic diseases were responsible for 27% of recorded deaths in this age group. Tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases,
malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, and malaria are the five leading causes of death,with no differences between the sexes.Also noteworthy
is the importance of external causes in the mortality of children in this age group (8%). A more detailed study of the
causes of death, based on data from 2000, reveals that boys are more likely to be the victims of traffic accidents and girls are
more often victims of accidents in the home.

Adolescents 10–14 and 15–19 Years Old

The 10 leading causes of death in these groups include AIDS, physical assaults, accidents, tuberculosis, typhoid, and maternal
causes; services for adolescents are mainly provided by nonprofit organizations.According to the 2005–2006 Mortality,Morbidity,
and Service Utilization Service Survey (EMMUS IV), the fertility rate among 15–19-year-old women is 69 per 1,000, with wide
disparities between the metropolitan region (46 per 1,000) and rural areas (86 per 1,000). One of every five women aged 15–19
years old has access to modern contraceptives. Condom use was low in this group (7%) in 2005–2006.

In 2005, there were 1,002 deliveries among girls 10–14 years old, and 6,090 among women 15–19 years old.Violence and sexual
abuse are more common among 10–19-year-olds than in any other age groups.

Adults 20–59 Years Old

This age group—which includes women of childbearing age and most persons in the workforce—represents 40% of the total
population.According to the 2005–2006 survey (EMMUS IV), the fertility rate among women of childbearing age has declined
from 4.7 children per woman in 2000 to 4.1 in 2003, with variations depending on area of residence (five children in rural areas,
and three in the metropolitan area). Information on at least one modern family-planning method has been given to 99% of
women. The modern methods most commonly used by women who are in a relationship are injections (11%), condoms (5%),
and the pill (3%). Only 2% opt for sterilization in both urban and rural areas, and 2%, for IUDs.

Older Adults 65 Years Old and Older

According to the 2003 Population and Housing Census, the population older than 65 years old represents 5.1% of the total
population. Some 72% of this group lives in rural areas, and 7.7% indicated that they had at least one disability.Women account for
53% of the age group. Approximately 78% of the elderly do not know how to read or write.
The analysis of the causes of death in 2003 for that age group reveals a predominance of noncommunicable diseases (in descending order, cardiovascular disease, stroke, neoplasms, lung disease, diarrheal disease, and diabetes mellitus).