True picture of HIV and AIDS in Haiti shows poverty and injustice biggest hurdle

Progressio's latest briefing, HIV and AIDS in Haiti, examines how years of political chaos in Haiti has allowed HIV and AIDS to flourish, leaving it with the highest incidence of HIV in the world outside sub-Saharan Africa at 3.8 per cent  and with AIDS as the leading cause of death in Haitian women aged between 15 and 49.

The authors, former BBC World Service journalist Nick Caistor, Haitian medical doctor Jean Hugues Henrys and former Progressio Latin America and Caribbean advocacy coordinator Anne Street, explore the responses of the Haitian government, NGOs and the international community to the epidemic. They show that the deep, grinding poverty faced by millions of people in Haiti puts those living in poor communities at greatest risk, and argue that HIV and AIDS cannot be tackled without also addressing the endemic poverty and injustice in the country.

The report conveys the reality of the impact of HIV and AIDS on Haitians through interviews conducted by Progressio's development worker Gianni Dal Mas. One 47-year-old widowed mother of four working as a street-seller said: 'When they told me [I was HIV positive], I became very sad. I left the hospital and went to the riverbank. I sat down to think of all the things going round and round in my head. What would become of my children? If I was going to die, who would look after my little girl and my sons? My family had no money to send them to school and I couldn't tell anyone that I had this disease …'

Lizzette Robleto, Progressio's Latin America and Caribbean advocacy coordinator, says: 'The Haitian government is failing to take HIV and AIDS seriously and urgently needs to tackle the increase in sexual assaults and rape which puts women at risk of infection. Meanwhile poverty means many Haitians live in overcrowded conditions, have little hygiene or clean water, experience high rates of child malnutrition and under-nutrition and cannot afford healthcare or anti-retroviral drugs. Many Haitians are suspicious of international or national initiatives to tackle HIV and AIDS after years of colonial intervention and the lack of an effective democratic government. Instead, research  shows that 70 to 90 per cent of Haitians consult a voodoo priest - many of whom don't see HIV as linked to behaviour or infection - rather than a doctor. These are the hurdles faced by the charities, NGOs and religious groups who provide 50 per cent of Haiti's healthcare .' The report explores these challenges and includes interviews with the healthworkers, NGOs and Haitian community organisations providing care and treatment for people living with HIV and AIDS, conducted by the authors and the director of Haiti's Centre for Development Research, Calixte Clérismé.

Paul Pope, Progressio's HIV and AIDS advocacy coordinator, said: 'These findings will resonate with the experience of European organisations tackling HIV and AIDS in other developing countries. It shows that those living in poor communities are most at risk from the epidemic and least able to cope with its consequences; and demonstrates Progressio's belief that comprehensive and holistic HIV and AIDS prevention and care requires that endemic poverty and injustice are also addressed.'

The briefing, which was funded by Trócaire and Christian Aid, covers the history of HIV and AIDS in Haiti, public awareness and knowledge of the disease, responses and treatment of HIV and AIDS patients, stigma and discrimination, people living with HIV and AIDS (PLHA) associations, religious groups, traditional medicine and voodoo beliefs in Haiti, and HIV and AIDS in the Dominican Republic.

Order or download a copy of HIV and AIDS in Haiti

For more information please contact Lizzette Robleto, Progressio's Latin America and Caribbean advocacy coordinator.