PRNewswire - December 9, 2002

Through the agreement, the Global Fund has committed to send approximately $25 million in grant monies to Haiti over the next two years so that the Haitian Government can continue to battle the crippling AIDS pandemic there. Currently, more than 250,000 people are infected with AIDS/HIV in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. More than 30,000 Haitians died from AIDS last year alone, roughly twice the number who died from the disease in the United States that same year.

"We believe that the Global Fund Project will help overcome many barriers to just and adequate treatment for persons living with HIV, offer testing to a greater segment of the population, promote prevention and ultimately contribute to reversing current social conditions in Haiti that facilitate the spread of AIDS," said Mildred Aristide, Haiti's First Lady and the chairperson of Haiti's Country Coordinating Mechanism, the country's national commission working with the Global Fund.

"We will encourage countries around the region and indeed around the world to look to Haiti to learn how to create a vibrant structure to direct the fight against AIDS, and we are confident that [they] will be capable teachers," said a statement from the Secretariat of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

According to the Global Fund, the program will be administered by a strategic coalition that will bring together the Haitian Government, Haitians living with AIDS/HIV, 17 local civil society and private sector organizations in Haiti as well as various multilateral organizations and bilateral donors. A private sector foundation and the United Nations Development Programme will oversee the disbursement of funds to community-based organizations throughout Haiti.

The Global Fund grants will provide additional resources to expand a number of existing treatment and prevention programs in Haiti that have proven effective. According to the Global Fund, the money from the grant will be used to provide antiretroviral therapy to more than 1,200 people living with HIV through a ground-breaking approach that uses community members to promote adherence to treatment. The grant will also allow for the development of communications strategies that will coincide with various marketing efforts, which include the introduction of more than 15 million condoms throughout the country.

"AIDS has already caused too much suffering in Haiti. We hope that the program being launched today will help turn the tide against this terrible killer and so contribute to a rebirth of the nation as it turns 200," said the statement from the Secretariat of the Global Fund.

This material is distributed by Downey McGrath Group, Inc., on behalf of the Government of Haiti. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

SOURCE Downey McGrath Group

Web Site: http://www.dmggroup.com

021209
PR021219

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2002. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2002. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .