Good news for Haiti that HIV rate has declined

THE ISSUE: Good news from Haiti on the HIV front.
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board

July 8, 2009

The words "Haiti" and "good news" don't appear in the same sentence often enough, given the island nation's chronic political and social turmoil. So, positive news from the country's efforts to address its HIV rate counts as quite a feat.

The Associated Press reports that Haiti's HIV rate has been kept in the single digits, and has fallen further, amount to good news, very good news. From 1993 to 2003, pregnant women tested saw their overall infection rate drop from 6.2 percent to 3.1 percent.

Those statistics remain higher than those in the developed world, but they are better than rates found in other parts of the Caribbean and rate exceptionally low when compared to parts of sub-Sahara Africa.

Granted, reliable statistics are hard to come by, so it's important to keep perspective. Nonetheless, if they reflect gains and stability in Haiti's anti-HIV campaign, then these results may offer hope for developing a blueprint to contain the spread of this debilitating virus in other parts of the world.

Such a blueprint, consisting of some of the best proven practices already operating in areas of high AIDS and HIV rates, is imperative to combat one of the most devastating illnesses of our lifetime.

Sources cited in the AP story credit much of the success to two nonprofits, the Boston-based Partners in Health and Port-au-Prince's GHESKIO, which managed to coordinate behavioral changes, education and the use of AIDS medications to curb the effects of this devastating disease.

Of course, money helps, too. The U.S. government, particularly the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PREPAR, helped more than 18,000 Haitians receive free medication to treat the virus.

But the international aid would come to naught without an effective ground game. Thanks to the two organizations operating in Haiti, patients are more likely to adhere to their treatment regimens, stay in closer contact with their doctors and avoid relying on local traditions or Voodoo priests to treat their ailments.

Haiti has long held the distinction of being one of the worst HIV-infected nations outside of sub-Sahara Africa. Word that that reputation is changing is welcome.

BOTTOM LINE: Progress helps Haiti and the world.



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