The community-level health care system in Haiti is incorporated into the national health system, which is based on the Paquet Essentiel de Services et Soins de Santé (PES), or the Essential Package of Health Services and Health Care. This system is coordinated by the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), which is responsible for implementing PES in collaboration with various implementing partners, including national hospitals, health clinics, international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), faith-based health providers, and private health practitioners.
PES was established after the earthquake in 2011 as a way for the MSPP to systematically rebuild the Haitian health system. The MSPP considers PES to be scaling-up in order to respond to the needs of the country, although many implementing partners refer to the program as being in its pilot phase because the community component is not documented in health policy. PES operates nationwide in all administrative districts, referred to as Departments, including peri-urban and rural areas.
The standard package of services delivered at all levels of the health system under PES includes maternal health, child health, adolescent health, communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, prevention against violence and accidental deaths, nutrition, general health promotion, risk and disaster management, and public health, citizen, and environmental protection. At the community level, community health workers (CHWs) are responsible for providing information, education, and referrals for a more specific package of services, including vaccinations, family planning (FP), nutrition, cholera, HIV/AIDS, and hygiene.
FP services are included in the defined package under PES, and CHWs provide information, education, and referrals for a range of FP services, including Standard Days Method/Fertility Awareness Methods (SDM/FAM), condoms, oral pills, injectable contraceptives, implants, intrauterine devices (IUDs), permanent methods, and emergency contraception. The MSPP plans to increase the number and saturation of CHWs in the coming years, although there is no specified timeline for this plan.
The PES includes a defined package of health services, which is delivered at all levels of the health system. At the community level, CHWs are responsible for providing information, education, and referrals for a more specific package of services, including vaccinations, family planning, nutrition, cholera, HIV/AIDS, and hygiene. The MSPP considers PES to be scaling-up in order to respond to the needs of the country, although many implementing partners refer to the program as being in its pilot phase because the community component is not documented in health policy.
The MSPP plans to increase the number and saturation of CHWs in the coming years, although there is no specified timeline for this plan. The PES operates nationwide in all administrative districts, referred to as Departments, including peri-urban and rural areas. The standard package of services delivered at all levels of the health system under PES includes maternal health, child health, adolescent health, communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, prevention against violence and accidental deaths, nutrition, general health promotion, risk and disaster management, and public health, citizen, and environmental protection.