Jim Ansara and logistics manager Charles Jenkins Bartholomew stand in front of the jobsite for the Maternal Center of Excellence in Sierra Leone.
Permission granted by BHI
BHI’s team is made up of over 130 architects, engineers, global health leaders and other individuals based throughout the world.
What types of projects does it sponsor?
BHI is a design-and-build nonprofit that delivers high-quality, dignified and equitable healthcare solutions in low-resource settings throughout the world. We partner with nonprofit organizations and local governments to provide architecture, engineering, construction, facilities maintenance and training services that strengthen healthcare infrastructure and systems.
BHI’s international team works specifically in low- and middle-income countries. We take on jobs that often no one else wants, and we build in some of the most resource-constrained areas of the world.
Our projects range from designing and building maternal and newborn healthcare services, including the future 166-bed Maternal Center of Excellence in Koidu, Sierra Leone, which is expected to greatly decrease maternal mortality.
Following the emergence of COVID-19, we worked to strengthen healthcare systems throughout sub-Saharan Africa through assessing and repairing broken down oxygen plants, as well as providing education and training to local technicians and hospital management to ensure that their plants continue to run sustainably.
Lastly, we focus on enabling renewable energy systems, especially in countries like Haiti where fuel shortages and rising costs can inhibit hospitals from running their operations smoothly. We just finished upgrading and installing 1,800 solar panels at our first project, which will reduce 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
How have you been able to stay working on the ground in Haiti even with the current political uncertainty in the country?
BHI began in Haiti, and we have deep roots in the country. Our long-term commitment to hiring local Haitian workers has enabled us to remain in the country, even when so many other organizations have left.
We have over 40 Haitian team members who continue to advance our in-country projects — working every day to overcome supply chain and logistical challenges, power outages, fuel shortages, political uncertainty and more. We remain committed to the communities where we design and build critical infrastructure, while also exercising appropriate caution, prioritizing safety and remaining in close touch with all team members about conditions on the ground.
Why do you use local labor?
From our earliest days, BHI has prioritized equipping and empowering local workforces. This is a more sustainable model long term, and that way, we can ensure that knowledge stays within the community.
At the same time, volunteers and experts from the United States and other nations are critical to supporting and training local workers. In the early days of our work in Haiti, volunteers from the United States and the Dominican Republic helped train Haitian workers, including electricians, plumbers, carpenters and other trades. Now, those workers are training the next generation of skilled team members in Haiti.
We still encourage industry and in-kind partners to collaborate with us to support local workers; for example, one of our major partners, Laticrete, recently sent a volunteer to support installing hospital flooring at our maternal center project in Sierra Leone.
Why is the construction of healthcare buildings in developing countries so important?
Healthcare services require healthcare infrastructure. Without the staff and space to operate a clinic, equitable healthcare access remains out of reach for too many people.
We believe in health equity, or the idea that every person should have accessible and dignified care, regardless of their ability to pay or geographical circumstances. By providing architecture, engineering and construction services to facilities maintenance and research development, our goal is to strengthen healthcare infrastructure and healthcare systems.
While BHI’s international team is made up of experts, we are constantly learning. Materials and resources that are available in Haiti may not be available in Sierra Leone and vice versa. We never go into a project assuming that we know everything, and we aim to meet the unique needs of every partner.
We find that we can achieve the greatest impact — and help provide the highest quality of care — when we merge our experience working in resource constrained environments with the knowledge of local partners.
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Publish date : 2024-10-07 03:32:00
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