Infrastructure is one of our best tools
in the fight against COVID-19.
Without reliable and appropriate facilities – without beds, without power to run ventilators, without running water – the lives of doctors, nurses and all their patients are at greater risk.
We are experiencing the final moments before COVID-19 spreads rapidly through the poorest regions of the world, threatening to stretch already-fragile health systems to their breaking point. Without the option of social distancing, these communities need emergency infrastructure and equipment now to give doctors and nurses the best chance against the epidemic.
This is Build Health International’s expertise.
BHI's Guiding Principles In Action
We work closely with our partners to plan, design, and oversee the construction of COVID-19 infrastructure in low-resource communities.
We develop and implement emergency infrastructure solutions that also strengthen the public healthcare system for long term, sustainable impact.
We help our partners adapt their existing infrastructure and integrate new infrastructure to ensure they can continue to provide high-quality care for all patients during the pandemic.
We design for local capacity and always engage the local workforce. In Haiti, our COVID-19 construction projects have been entirely led by our local team.
We prioritize renewable energy, reducing the ongoing costs of energy-intensive healthcare activities, such as the production of oxygen.
We build and maintain strong relationships with our partners and their communities, enabling a rapid response despite travel restrictions and high demand on biomedical supply chains.
We reduce costs by soliciting donated materials, enabling our partners to invest in what matters most: providing lifesaving care to all who need it.
We set high standards for ourselves then we aim to exceed them, even while working in regions without easy access to materials and equipment.
Our Goal
Appropriate and reliable emergency infrastructure for care providers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 epidemic in low-resource settings.
Increasing Hospital Capacity
Adaptable Design
Our team was on the frontlines strengthening infrastructure during Haiti’s cholera epidemic in 2010 and the West Africa Ebola epidemic from 2014-16. Now, we are directing all of our energy and expertise to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our multi-disciplinary team of architects, engineers and global health professionals is developing robust open access resources, in line with WHO standards, tailored to the poorest regions of the world. All of our designs can be implemented by local teams with materials that are routinely available to them, even with borders closed and local movement significantly restricted.
COVID-19 Treatment Centers
Rapid Construction
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Haiti had fewer than 125 intensive care beds nationally, for a country of almost 11 million people. Build Health International and our partners immediately recognized that additional emergency infrastructure would be required immediately. Now, in less than four months, we have built two COVID-19 treatment centers, adding 150 dedicated coronavirus beds.
Example:
Mirebalais Hospital
In less than two months, BHI designed and built a 100-bed COVID treatment Center with piped oxygen at Haiti's premier teaching hospital.
Read more
Example:
St. Boniface Hospital
This 50-bed COVID-19 treatment center, designed and built by BHI, provides critical care in Southern Haiti.
Read more
Lifesaving Equipment
Affordable Oxygen Systems
We are increasing oxygen availability at our partner hospitals, providing scalable, responsive solutions matter their size or resource-constraints. Oxygen is one of the most effective therapies for COVID-19. From procuring bedside oxygen concentrators for local health centers to designing and building large oxygen plants for national teaching hospitals, BHI is working to ensure everyone has access to this critical therapy.
Maximizing Resources, Minimizing Cases
Responsive Clinical Plans
We are working with partners in 13 countries to strengthen their clinical plans and adapt existing infrastructure to better respond to surges in COVID-19. These hospitals and clinics collectively serve over 18.3 million people; many are the only healthcare option for hours in any direction, providing care to vulnerable rural communities. It is critical that these hospitals be able to respond effectively to COVID-19 without compromising other clinical service.
Our multi-disciplinary team of architects, engineers and global health professionals is developing robust open access resources, in line with WHO standards, tailored to the poorest regions of the world. These resources are designed to be implemented by local teams with materials that are routinely available to them, even with borders closed and local movement significantly restricted. We have made available two COVID-19 treatment center designs, with full construction drawings, for facilities with and without testing ability, as well as manuals on rapid construction and clinical site management.
Our Partners
Jim Ansara speaking to WCVB-Boston
"Almost all Americans now are starting to understand that we are not isolated, that we are part of the world community. What goes on in the poorest countries, as well as the rich countries, really matters and affects us. So going forward, when we emerge from COVID, we have to think about global health differently"
Jim Ansara
Co-Founder, Build Health International