With every hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital and largest city, either damaged or destroyed by the series of devastating earthquakes over a week ago, the nation’s health care system is in shambles people in the country infected with HIV or AIDS, access to antiretroviral treatments is difficult – even in ideal circumstances.
“Here in Haiti, more than 2 percent of the adult population lives with the virus, and hundreds more are infected every year,” wrote Craig Kielburger, a Vancouver Sun columnist and founder of Free the Children who traveled in Haiti on Jan. 16 to offer food and medical aid. “Due to the extreme poverty and lack of medical access at the best of times, mother-to-child transmission through breastfeeding or at birth is quite common.”
Several corporations and aid groups have taken up the cause and are making concerted efforts to help rebuild Haiti’s devastated health care system and provide supplies to those infected with HIV/AIDS.
Abbott Laboratories, a global health care company and pharmaceutical provider, initially offered $1 million in humanitarian aid. This week, the company more than doubled their donation, providing $2.5 million in funding and pharmaceutical products.
“The recent earthquake has had a devastating impact on Haiti’s limited health care system, which was already facing significant challenges,” said Catherine V. Babington, president of the Abbott Fund in a news release. “Building on our existing partnerships with humanitarian organizations in Haiti, we are providing funding and product donations to help address the immense and immediate health needs.”
The release notes that Abbott and the Abbott Fund have provided more than $34 million in grants and product donations since 2007 to help address health needs in Haiti, including maternal and child health, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and malnutrition.
New York-based Aid for AIDS is also coordinating an effort to help HIV-infected Haitians by collecting unused medications to treat the virus. In addition to collecting life-saving antiretroviral drugs, Aid for AIDS is also amassing medications including antibiotics, antivirals, antiallergics and antiparasite medications to treat infections associated with the virus.
Liliana Velaquez, marketing and communications coordinator for the group, said Aid for AIDS is working on sending their third shipment of medications this weekend.
“Many people are responding to the call,” she said.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission is also lending a hand. The group raised more than $10,000 in the past week, the majority of which is going to SEROvie, a Haitian group that provides support to predominantly gay, HIV-infected men. At the time the earthquake struck, a support group was in progress at SEROvie’s office in Port-au-Prince – 14 men died as the walls of the building crumbled, said Sara Perle, communications director of IGLHRC.
“Now, they are providing support for the beneficiaries sort of out of their back yard,” said Perle.
A portion of the IGLHRC funds raised will also be sent to Collectiva Mujer y Salud, a human rights organization based in the neighboring Dominican Republic.
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