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Here is a report from a recent responder to Haiti

I would like to share with you some thoughts I have had on my recent stay in Haiti:

1. What little infrastructure that was in place before has taken a great hit in Haiti. Access to cell towers were few and far between. I was able to hit a tower at the hospital compound and transmit emails but not voice communications. US Marshall's assisting my at the American Embassy could not hit towers either (thousands of people are gathered in front of the Embassy. If your people have to boogey out, the Embassy is heavily protected but the traffic getting there is backed up. Also the Puerto Prince General Hospital was being guarded by the men and women of the 82nd Airborne who were sincere as hell in keeping an eye on us all night).

2. Roads are clogged, masses of people are spending their nights in darkness in parks and fields either because their homes were destroyed or they're afraid of aftershocks. Animals(cows, dogs, bulls,etc) are roaming about. Rats are everywhere. Animal immunizations are rare in that country. Any dog or cat should be suspected of having rabies until proven otherwise. While many of the streets are passable they have become obstacle courses as locals have set up some type of border system using large rocks that extend out into the street leading to a serpentine-like drive around the city

3. There should be in place a surveillance protocol for illnesses including diarrhea and such infections dengue. Potable water is scarce and, in my opinion it is only a matter of time until diarrheal diseases start to become a major source of morbidity and mortality(this opinion was formed as I watched people drink from and bath in any pool of standing water they could find). Dengue fever has been documented in UN personnel in the past. A statistical study of school age children found 33% carried the antibodies to dengue in 2004. Any of your personnel going to Haiti should report any febrile illness immediately to their supervisor).
4. From my short experience there(I had to return as my primary job was in jeopardy, I should be returning the week of Feb 1) I possess a strong opinion that the key to more effectively dealing with this crises is to tap into the social capital that exists between families and friends. I personally did rounds at night and did not find one person that did not have a relative or friend sleeping on the floor or even under the bed. These family members were persistent( yet very kind and respectful) advocates for their family members. A call to help move a damaged car from a doorway instantly brought dozens of men who worked together to get the job done swiftly and efficiently. And one more thing. All those aid workers you see heroically scrambling during the day leave at dusk. How do I know? Because I witnessed it myself. Left behind were me, a physician(who had tears in his eyes where I showed up and told him I was not an EMT as he was expecting but a Physician Assistant meaning that he could close his eyes and rest for the first time in more than 2 days). We were left to take care of not only 300 critically injured people but to treat any patients who were brought in during the night. One night there aged me 10 years
5. The heat and humidity there are stifling. As I wrote before water is a very scarce commodity (i know your not fooled by all those videos showing people being handed out bottles of water. That is only seen in the big cities like Puerto-Prince. Dehydration is going to be a major concern to anyone outside that hellish hospital compound).
6. It is either a testament to the Haitian people's great patience or they are still stunned by recent events. But it has been 10 days since this event occurred and I wonder to what limit their patience extends before things begin to get out of hand. Including both the big cities and surrounding areas I would estimate that over 1 million people are struggling to survive right now.
7. MAKE SURE EVERYONE HAS THEIR PASSPORTS ON THEIR PERSON OR CLOSE AT HAND! Losing it can cause someone some really big problems. Make sure also people have American dollars. They are charging some kind of fee to get across the border and they insist its in dollars. I write you this email for 2 reasons
8. I wanted to give you a first hand account of what I saw on the ground
9. In the past several hours I have developed a cough which at times is so intense that I cannot get a breath in and because I feel as if someone has put me in a sauna and turned up the heat. While i was in an area with alot of sick people I had easy access to clean water for frequent washing and drinking. If I am sick than could be a sign of very bad things to come for the majority of the populations that does not have such access If anything comes else comes to mind I will let you know Best regards, Rocco
   

This post was edited by a moderator February 2010.

This is a great report from an actual on the ground responder. Are there any more reports from people who have been on the ground recently? We'd love to hear them.