"In Haiti, Aid Workers Face a Dual Challenge"

"In Haiti, average life expectancy is 53, three-quarters of women give birth without a health attendant, diarrheal illnesses are the second-leading cause of death and 30% of children younger than 5 have stunted growth.

And that was before Tuesday's magnitude 7.0 earthquake.

This time, emergency medical responders will have to provide much more than the usual food, water, latrines and bandages to stop the spread of disease, said Dr. Christina Catlett, associate director for health preparedness at the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response in Baltimore. They'll also have to create a public health system on the fly."

Shari Roan reports for the Los Angeles Times January 15, 2010.

See Also:

"Haiti Earthquake, Deforestation Heighten Landslide Risk" (National Geographic)