Build Health International
Project Introduction
On August 14, 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Southern Haiti, damaging homes, schools, churches, and healthcare facilities in its tracks. Within hours, the BHI team mobilized, helping to secure resources and provide structural assessments. While none of the 60+ infrastructure projects that BHI completed prior to the earthquake sustained any significant damage, our team has been working with partners and community organizations to restore and rebuild health infrastructure impacted by the earthquake.
Build Health International
Project Information
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Timeline
August 2021-Present
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Restored, rebuilt and new infrastructure projects
6 Projects
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Results
Learn more about our Haiti earthquake response by the numbers. >
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Reflections
BHI's Senior Director of Engineering, Omar Hernandez shared his reflections on how BHI's work in Haiti over the past decade prepared us to respond. >
Plan
& Design
Build
& Equip
Advise
& Research
Build Health International
Project Description
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.