where we work.

health

Health outcomes and access to care (13)

• 60.7% consume untreated water



• Immunization coverage among children 12-23 months old is only 36.2%



• 3% of mothers breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months of child's life



• 61.6% of children had fever, diarrhea, or signs of acute respiratory illness (ARI) in the past 2 weeks (i.e. prior to the 1999 batey survey)



• Only 50.4% of parents with children exhibiting fever or acute respiratory infections sought medical care for the sick child



• 26.8% of those children with diarrhea received oral rehydration solution (homemade or commercial)



• Approximately 80% report not accessing health care due to distance of nearest facility and 80% state access is limited by lack of resources to pay for care



• More than 70% report fear of mistreatment as a reason they do not seek health care



• Only an estimated 25% of batey residents have medical insurance (3)

Malnutrition (13)

• Only 14% receive vitamin A supplementation



• Only 3.7% consume iodized salt



• 58.7% are anemic (<11.0 hemoglobin), much of which is due to iron deficiency

HIV (13)

• 28.8% of mothers believe that magic plays a role in HIV transmission



• 58.7% believe they have little or no chance of contracting HIV
  
  
• Of those reporting little or no chance, 76% report more than one sexual partner, and 3.8% report using condoms.
  
  
• Dominican bateyes have the highest HIV rate of all Dominican populations - a number equal to the rate of infection among female sex workers, traditionally the highest-risk population for HIV infection. (12)