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Complete 4 pages APA formatted article: Evaluation of Haiti: After the Earthquake. After the earthquake, the country had to face significant issues regarding nonavailability of communication facilities, transport facilities, and hospitals. The electrical networks had also been damaged by the earthquake. There was ambiguity regarding the authority and responsibilities of personnel and this is what hampered the initial rescue and aid efforts. The overall infrastructure was severely damaged and there were no facilities for medical aid. The medical aid was given high priority in the rescue efforts. Paul Farmer presents a firsthand account of the scenario after the earthquake in Haiti in his book ‘Haiti after the Earthquake’.

Farmer (2011) describes the earthquake in medical terms as acute-on-chronic. The literal meaning of this term is a small flare-up of a continuous problem. In a medical context, any situation that comes for a small period of time is referred to as acute while chronic is used for any situation that is continuous. The term acute-on-chronic is used to describe a scenario where a situation is continuous but its effects are witnessed periodically. However, the situation is constant and if the chronic nature of the situation is not detected, the problem may get worse. In the context of the Haiti earthquake, Farmer describes the social and economic situation of Haiti as the chronic situation and the earthquake as the factor that brought the weaknesses of the economic and social situation of Haiti to the foreground.

From the natural aspect, the earthquake was significant without any doubt, but the catastrophic effect of the earthquake was more due to the already prevailing social and economic situation in Haiti. According to the evaluation of the scenario done by Farmer, the health and education department run by the government of Haiti were significantly weak even before the earthquake happened.