Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Haiti

  • Book review: My Years with the British Red Cross

    Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, United Kingdom The Red Cross is known worldwide as a great humanitarian achievement. The charity was founded by Swiss businessman Henri Dunant, who was moved by the lack of care available to people who had been wounded in the Battle of Solferino, Italy, in 1859. His idea was to produce national societies…

  • When Papa Doc treated yaws

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “Our Doc who is in the National Palace for life, hallowed be Your name by present and future generations. Your Will be done in Port-au-Prince and in the countryside…” — Translation of part of the “Catechism of the Revolution” that was recited daily by Haitian schoolchildren François Duvalier, M.D. (1907–1971) was the…

  • Origin of yellow fever

    Enrique Chaves-Carballo Kansas City, Kansas, United States The origin of yellow fever has been a controversial subject since the disease appeared in the New World. William C. Gorgas, who was responsible for the sanitation of Cuba and Panama, believed that yellow fever originated in Panama.1 Henry R. Carter, from the U.S. Marine Hospital Service and director…