Haiti Earthquake Relief Resources for People with HIV/AIDS and Their Supporters

		SUMMARY: The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 12 has caused extreme destruction and loss of life, with an estimated death toll exceeding 100,000. Haiti was among the first countries to be heavily impacted by AIDS, and UNAIDS estimates that some 120,000 Haitians are living with HIV. People with HIV/AIDS will face additional hardships in the aftermath of the disaster, including interruption of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and greater susceptibility to infection. Several relief efforts are focused on people with HIV/AIDS, including some spearheaded by HIV positive people in the U.S. and elsewhere.

By Liz Highleyman

Below is a list of organizations and campaigns serving people with HIV/AIDS in Haiti, compiled from various Internet sources. Not all are HIV-specific, and this is by no means a complete listing, as new efforts are continuously emerging.

GHESKIO -- the Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi's Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections -- founded in 1982, is perhaps the oldest Haitian organization focusing on HIV/AIDS and related diseases. Though its facilities were heavily damaged and some staff members were killed, GHESKIO has established a refugee camp for earthquake survivors and is operating a field hospital and providing AIDS and TB care. According to an email from director Jean Pape, GHESKIO aims to keep providing services to the large number of patients who receive care though the GFATM (Global Fund) and PEPFAR, and has a distribution system in place in Port-au-Prince for ART and tuberculosis (TB) drugs. GHESKIO plans to provide services to patients already enrolled in research projects, but is not enrolling new ones until things are stable. The group has a partnership with Weill Cornell Medical College, which is collecting monetary donations on its behalf (www.weill.cornell.edu/globalhealth).

AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), is a U.S. based network that conducts clinical trials worldwide, including Haiti. According to a recent email message, ACTG is "working with the protocol teams for those studies established at GHESKIO to determine how we might continue to support the patients...Ian Sanne at WITS (Women and Infants Transmission Study) has begun exploring the deployment of a mobile laboratory that may assist in providing laboratory services for the unit as they try to get back on their feet."

Partners in Health is a well-established group that was providing medical care on the ground in Haiti before the earthquake, including an HIV treatment program. Although their facilities were heavily damaged, they are continuing to provide medical care, including surgery and other trauma care. PIH is seeking monetary donation and specific trained medical volunteers.

Doctors without Borders/Medicins sans Frontiers is well known for its medical relief work in disaster situations worldwide, and has extensive experience treating people with HIV and TB. The organization is also on the ground in Haiti providing medical and surgical care, and is seeking monetary donations.

William J. Clinton Foundation, the former president's humanitarian organization, has done extensive work with people HIV/AIDS in developing countries, and is currently seeking monetary donations for Haiti.

Aid for AIDS International provides services and aims to empower people with HIV/AIDS in developing countries, as well as immigrants to the U.S. The group is seeking donations of unused antiretroviral drugs, as well as other medications and medical supplies.

Housing Works, a New York City AIDS service organization well known for its work with homeless, substance using, and low-income people with HIV/AIDS, is working with partners in Haiti, including Foundation Esther B. Stanislas and PHAP+ (a coalition with a membership of more than 5000 people with HIV) to provide medical services and other relief. It too is accepting monetary and material donations.

Haiti Vox is a blog established by long-time AIDS activist and journalist Anne-Christine d'Adesky, who had family roots and experience working in Haiti, as an online clearinghouse of information about rescue, relief, and rebuilding operations, with a focus on people with HIV/AIDS and orphans.

1/22/10

Source
Compiled from various Internet sources, including web sites of the listed organizations.