The Road to Health Equity isn’t Paved
Building sustainable health infrastructure in rural Haiti quite literally means overcoming bumps in the road.
It’s 7 a.m. when Sony Benjamin, a Site Supervisor for Build Health International (BHI) begins his day. Today, Sony plans to drive from Haiti to Elías Piña on the border of the Dominican Republic to pick up foam blocks from customs. From there, he will deliver these blocks to the construction site he is managing in Boucan-Carré, Haiti, where BHI is building a Women’s Health Center. The task is seemingly simple — or at least, it would appear that way to someone who is unfamiliar with the challenges of building infrastructure in Haiti. That someone is not Sony.
With nearly 10 years of experience in construction management on various projects in Haiti, and a native Haitian himself, Sony knows very well that finding success in construction means expecting the unexpected. Today was no different.
After loading the foam blocks into a flatbed truck at the Dominican Republic border, Sony began his 73 kilometer drive — which would take 2 hours due to road conditions — to Boucan-Carré. As he hit the big last hill before arriving in Boucan-Carré, however, the combination of uneven roads and the lightweight foam caused the truck to stop, wheels spinning aimlessly, holding up traffic in both directions.
Sony recalls, “Since the load was not heavy because it was foam, we had a hard time going up the hill. We restarted, but halfway through the tires were just spinning and not grabbing the dirt.”
Unlike in the United States, a tow truck isn’t just a phone call away. Not only did this situation begin causing delays for other drivers on the road, but it threatened to impose costly construction delays.
Luckily, as Sony was trying to problem solve, drove up with someone who had previously worked with BHI to help procure gravel and construction supplies. The driver recognized Sony, pulled over, and offered to hook their trucks together to lift the flatbed up the hill. By 4 p.m. that afternoon, Sony finally arrived at Boucan-Carré, as the onsite construction team was getting ready to wrap up work for the day.
While this account may just seem like a long and frustrating day at work, it exemplifies the types of challenges that are inherent to working in low-resource settings like rural Haiti — and why time and again BHI has been successful in overcoming such hurdles. In low- and middle-income countries, construction of healthcare infrastructure is often left incomplete due to the burdens in time, resources, and finances imposed by the compounding challenges that arise during the construction process.
By anticipating challenges, planting roots in the communities where we work, and employing local workforces, BHI is able to overcome bumps in the road with resilience and resourcefulness.
Olivia Duggan is Build Health International’s Communication Manager. She writes about the intersections of health and infrastructure, with a focus on the impact of BHI’s work on fragile health systems.
