Build Health International was founded in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, as the tragedy highlighted the need for accessible, comprehensive, and seismic-proof healthcare infrastructure in Haiti. BHI’s first project after the earthquake, Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais, redefined what was possible for designing and building health infrastructure in low-resource settings. Over the past decade, BHI has carried the lessons learned from building Haiti’s largest and most advanced public-sector hospital into over 60 projects across the country.

When the 2021 earthquake struck Haiti’s Southern Peninsula, the tragedy was a somber reminder of the earthquake over a decade ago. Yet, unlike 2010, Haiti was better equipped to respond. Haitian doctors, nurses and biomedical technicians were treating patients and they had more spaces to do so. None of the over 60 healthcare infrastructure projects BHI completed over the past 11 years sustained significant damage, as they were intentionally designed with seismic considerations in mind.

Drawing upon our Haitian led workforce of laborers, electricians, and seismic engineers, BHI is working with a handful of health clinics on Haiti’s Southern Peninsula to rebuild and restore infrastructure that was impacted by the earthquake. As we assist in building back, our team is again drawing upon lessons learned from two major earthquakes and over a decade of experience in Haiti, to ensure the new facilities will be resilient in the face of disaster.