Continuing Commitment from Baxter International Foundation Allows Medicines for Humanity to Continue to Serve Vulnerable Populations in the Dominican Republic
The Baxter International Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Baxter International Inc., has awarded Medicines for Humanity (MFH) a new grant to continue its support of critically needed life-saving health services in the Dominican Republic during 2021. In the midst of a global pandemic, challenges to provide public health services continue to be significant. This grant will greatly help to alleviate some of those challenges and will ensure the continuation of healthcare accessibility through mobile clinic outreach to underserved residents of batey communities in the Quisqueya area, outside of San Pedro de Macoris, east of Santo Domingo. Bateyes are informal villages developed around basic dormitory housing for sugar can workers and their families.
"We are so grateful to the Baxter International Foundation for continuing its support of providing health services to communities that are in need in the San Pedro region. We will be able to continue to provide clinical visits, nutrition and sanitation services that help to prevent illness and improve overall health," said Kristen Fanfant, MFH Program Manager. "Child mortality rates (CMRs) in the bateyes continue to greatly exceed the country's national average. Thanks to the continuing support from the Baxter International Foundation and the ongoing work of our partners, we will be able to expand services for children and their families that have been greatly affected by COVID-19.
MFH provides community health services to low-resourced populations in partnership with the non-profit Daughters of Charity, a community of Catholic sisters serving the Quisqueya area. The Daughters provide health services through a mobile clinic that is staffed by a physician, nurse, pharmacy technician and driver who travel to the bateyes daily to provide clinical consultations and medications on site. This past year, clinic staff provided nearly 4,000 medical consultations for children and their parents in the bateyes.
The mobile health clinic also provide prenatal and post natal consultations, clinical consultations for children and adults, home visits and health education outreach by community health workers (CHWs). Together, these interventions have been proven to help reduce childhood heaths from preventable causes.
As a global medical products company with operations around the world, Baxter’s facility in the Dominican Republic employs hundreds of individuals within the region. “Access to quality healthcare is a real issue in underserved communities around the world; amid a pandemic, the need is intensified. We’re proud to continue our partnership with MFH for a third year to help tackle barriers to care and bring critically-needed services to those in-need in the Dominican Republic,” said Verónica Arroyave, executive director of the Baxter International Foundation.