There were far more patients than could possibly fit into the small room that served as a makeshift medical clinic in the remote Haitian village. Many people had walked or ridden donkeys for miles in order to get there, and they stood, by the hundreds, outside in the Haitian heat. Gradually, they would filter into the clinic, where a nurse took their blood pressure before ushering them on to see a doctor. For many of the people, it would be the first doctor they had seen in a year or more.

The ailments were all too common: Hypertension. Diabetes. Malnutrition. Parasites. Scabies. Dehydration. Such situations are commonplace, and they are exacerbated by the fact that there are very few doctors in Haiti to serve the population. Even when medical care is available, however, many people, who typically subsist on less than $1 per day, cannot afford it.

MAP International is helping to alleviate suffering for the people of Haiti by delivering more than $100,000 of medicine to the country each month through partner organization Hope for Haiti. Volunteer doctors on short-term trips with the group use the medication to stock pharmacies in the clinics they operate throughout the country.

George Drobinski, executive director of Hope for Haiti, said MAP has been an instrumental part of their relief efforts.

"The collaboration with MAP has truly made an impact on the lives of the Haitians we serve," he said. "If they did not have access to this medication and medical care, many of these people literally would have died."

He recalled one baby whose dehydration was so severe she could not hold her head up. Medical professionals saved her life by administering oral rehydration salts provided by MAP. Drobinski said such situations are common.

"There is definitely a healthcare crisis going on in Haiti," he said. "But very often, something as simple as rehydration salts are all they need. It's just a matter of being able to provide it."

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and is one of the world's least-developed. About 65 percent of the population lives in poverty. According to the World Health Organization, the country has the worst health indicators of the Americas. It has the highest infant and maternal mortality rates, the highest malnutrition rates, and the highest number of persons living with HIV and AIDS.

"People are truly dying in Haiti because of malnutrition, hypertension, and other treatable conditions," Drobinski said. "There is a tremendous need there, and it's not about the quality of life. It's about saving lives. And we are meeting that need and bringing about positive change."

Each month, MAP International supplies Hope for Haiti with about 10 Travel Packs, MAP's portable containers of medication designed for use in developing areas. MAP charges a service fee for the packs but provides the medicine - more than $12,000 worth in each box - at no cost. Mission doctors use the packs in some of the world's most poverty- and disaster-stricken areas.

MAP President Michael Nyenhuis said the packs are designed especially for areas like Haiti. "The MAP Travel Pack program is one of the primary tools MAP uses to provide people living in the world's poorest places with the essential medical care they need," he said. "Until the economic and political situation in Haiti becomes more stable, the people need assistance. This is one way that MAP provides that."

MAP supplies not only medication but also medical and healthcare training for people in developing areas. Hope for Haiti uses MAP medications to enhance similar programs. The medical care that MAP medicines allow coincides with monthly community-based health education classes that address issues such as how to treat contaminated water.

"It's very important that we maintain the dignity of the people we're serving," Drobinski said. "So we don't want to just provide them with a hand-out. We're providing them with a hand up."