Overview

Beyond being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been the most affected by HIV/AIDS. Over 80% of Haitians live below the poverty line, only 1/3 have formal employment, 47.1% are illiterate and 2.9% are living with HIV. Half of all children suffer with intestinal worms. Fortunately, the security situation has improved considerably in the last year due in part to the coordinated effort of Haitian National Police and United Nations’ forces to address gang related violence.

World Hope International-Haiti (WHI-H) is addressing HIV/AIDS, education and poverty through HIV/AIDS prevention and care, child sponsorships, and microfinance. This year WHI-H programs have experienced tremendous growth due in large part to the launch of the Haitian Partners for Health (HPH) program. As part of HPH, WHI has expanded its role in two important new areas: HIV/AIDS counseling and testing and home based care. These additional programs allow WHI to serve HIV positive clients throughout the spectrum of their illness.

Haitian Partners for Health
At the end of 2006, WHI was awarded a $7.7 million HIV/AIDS grant from the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) New Partners Initiative (NPI) to mentor five community-based organizations (CBOs) in HIV/AIDS prevention and care in Haiti. The new program, entitled Haitian Partners for Health (HPH), was launched in June 2007. CBO partners will serve remote communities that have little or no HIV/AIDS services through the HPH program. With guidance and mentoring from WHI, HPH partners delivered the following four services in 2007: HIV prevention programs, counseling and testing, home based care for those living with HIV/AIDS,and support for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). WHI reached over 12,000 people with HIV prevention messages, provided support to almost 3,000 OVC and reached many men and women with HIV counseling and testing services and home based care in the first year of the program. WHI and its partner organizations anticipate reaching over 76,000 people over the next three years.

HIV Prevention
Program The Choose Life program is a faithbased, peer led program which focuses on HIV transmission methods, sexually transmitted infections, and building self-esteem and self-efficacy.(1) Choose Life small groups, called youth2youth (Y2Y), are comprised of school, church and out-of-school youth. The groups are facilitated by youth volunteers.

OVC Program
WHI’s OVC program works to strengthen families affected by HIV/AIDS through agriculture projects, microfinance, community mobilization, provision of formal education, and activities to support early childhood development. It also provides psychological care (traditional counseling, support groups and memory books) for people living with HIV/AIDS and their families.

Microfinance
WHI partnered with World Relief to develop a microfinance institution in Haiti called Finansman pou Ede Moun Avanse (FEMA). FEMA, based in Port au Prince, empowers the entrepreneurial poor by providing them with very small loans to develop micro-businesses. Currently, FEMA has approximately 3,000 clients and an estimated loan portfolio of $250,000.

Child Sponsorship
Hope for Children (HFC) is assisting over 350 children in Haiti with tuition and fees, school supplies, uniforms, and other basic needs like health care through child sponsorships. The HFC projects are in four Wesleyan schools and among children living in poor neighborhoods in Port Au Prince.

(1) Choose Life is a curriculum created by World Relief.