In the Haitian upper-case missive of the alphabet urban heart of Port-au-Prince , 1 take away non last a chemist to sell medicine. All you lot take away is a bucket together with the willingness to roam the streets inward the hot Sun looking for patients.
For many Haitians , medicine is an ordinary consumer proficient merely similar candies or groceries are , together with buying them off roaming street peddlers is the norm. As a thing of fact , actual pharmacies are difficult to come upward past times inward Republic of Haiti , together with these street dispensaries are the master copy root of medicine for many Haitians.
Photo credit: Paolo Woods together with Gabriele Galimberti
As a street vendor , you lot get got to brand certain your display looks attractive , otherwise no volition purchase anything from you. You seat the ampicillin side past times side to the Tylenol together with hence that the package of pinkish pills bird a contrast against the package of blueish pills. You adjust hundreds of multicolored pills inward blister packs inward a tower ascension upward from a tiny bucket , taking assist that the colors await proficient together. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 duet of pair of scissors , used to divvy upward the medicine , goes at the top. The whole thing is held together amongst safe bands.
“The portable pharmacies await similar contemporary fine art installations or candy shop displays ,” says photographers Paolo Woods together with Gabriele Galimberti , who get got been working on a projection nearly medical access inward over 2 dozen countries. The duo get got long been fascinated past times the city’s wandering druggists.
Selling medicines this means is illegal , but the laws are rarely enforced past times the Ministry of Public Health together with Population. The government’s lack of oversight puts the lives of Haitians at risk past times placing them inward the hands of untrained sellers who dole out everything from abortion pills to Viagra knockoffs. Most of these are generic medicines from China. Others are expired pills together with counterfeit drugs imported from the Dominican Republic. It’s similar playing a unsafe game of Russian roulette.
The vendors equally good give out medical advice , about of which are bad such equally prescribing powerful antibiotics for acne.
“People get got no secrets from us ,” says Rénold Germain , a medicine peddler. “They tell us nearly their infections , digestion , together with sexual matters. For each work nosotros get got a pill.”
Woods together with Galimberti state they desire to brand people aware that access to medicine , taken for granted inward developed countries , is a challenge inward many places.
Photo credit: Paolo Woods together with Gabriele Galimberti
Photo credit: Paolo Woods together with Gabriele Galimberti
Photo credit: Paolo Woods together with Gabriele Galimberti
via Wired