Opinion: Haiti’s community clinics show stability being built from the ground up, writer argues
In a guest perspective, Rupal Ramesh Shah says rising patient numbers at the Care 2 Communities clinic network show a different story from Haiti’s political gridlock.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti. A guest perspective published by Caribbean Life argues that the true measure of Haiti’s recovery lies in community health clinics rather than in the political machinations of Port-au-Prince.
Writer Rupal Ramesh Shah notes that the UN-backed multinational security force hovers around 5,500 personnel, that executive authority has been consolidated under Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé following the dissolution of the Transitional Presidential Council, and that more than 280 political parties have registered for a proposed late-2026 election.
Against that backdrop, Shah highlights Care 2 Communities (C2C), which runs a network of clinics in partnership with Haiti’s Ministry of Health.
Rising demand
According to the article, C2C recorded 87,433 clinic and community health visits in 2024, rising to 114,242 by the end of 2025, with about 130,000 expected this year.
Unique prenatal patients nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025, from 2,295 to 3,967, while prenatal visits grew from 7,999 to 12,806.
Shah cites WHO and UNICEF data showing Haiti has historically had the highest maternal mortality ratio in the Western Hemisphere, estimated at 350 to 480 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Reaching rural mothers
“In most rural areas, there are simply no consistent options,” said Christie-Anne Michel, C2C programme manager. “We are present in the most rural communities where medical care otherwise doesn’t exist.”
A standard prenatal consultation costs 500 gourdes, about $4, but C2C halves the price for women who come in during their first trimester. The organisation also trains traditional birth attendants, known as matrons, and runs “Mother’s Clubs” and new “Father’s Clubs”.
Managing director Racha Yehia said the organisation was “creating a replicable blueprint for high-impact healthcare that thrives even in complex environments”.
C2C immunised 1,070 children in 2025 and is targeting 1,400 this year, the article says.
Shah concludes that health professionals “must stop measuring Haiti’s viability solely by the dysfunction of its capital”, and urges donors and the diaspora to back local organisations.
