HIV and AIDS in Haiti
While it has been documented over and over again in the last week on how Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, it is also the home to approximately 120,000 Haitians living with HIV and estimated 6,814 of Haitians with tuberculosis.
With the devastation of the earthquake, two main facilities of an AIDS treatment center were heavily damaged. Most of the staff is alive and accounted for. GHESKIO, short for the Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi’s Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections, was founded in 1982 and was among the first to study the rise of HIV/AIDS in the developing world. In addition to the damaged buildings, the blocked roads make it difficult for patients to get needed treatment and supplies, according to the article Catastrophe in Haiti by POZ magazine.
Although, Haiti was listed as the primary risk factor for HIV by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) twenty years ago, it has become a leader in treatment, prevention and diagnosis.
As Haiti struggles to rebound from this catastrophe and treat some of its most vulnerable citizens, Housing Works, a NYC based AIDS services organization in collaboration with PHAP+, a Haitian HIV coalition, will provide assistance and medical supplies. Housing Works is also accepting donations which is crucial in helping the very people who tend to get left out in relief efforts.
Please help however way you can, whether by sending funds to GHESKIO or finding another way to donate.
