Womens and Childrens Health Initiatives in Haiti

Womens and Childrens Health Initiatives in Haiti

Family Health Ministries is an institutional partner of DGHI, which has been conducting research on cervical cancer prevention in Haiti since 1993. This research has led to the development of a screening protocol that has been adopted by the Haitian Ministry of Health and the introduction of HPV laboratories in Haiti. In October 2015, FHM began assisting the Haitian Ministry of Health to develop a unified national screening effort by co-founding a new NGO called "Haiti sans Cervical Cancer", an organization dedicated to reducing the burden of cervical cancer in Haiti through coordinated partnerships. Over the last year HsCC has grown to many new partners including Zanmi Lasante (Partners in Health) & GHESKIO. FHM's other research interests have been expanded to investigate novel strategies for reducing maternal infant mortality; understanding & preventing the sequelae of hypertension as well as understanding the role of HPV in head and neck cancers in Haiti. FHM objectives include helping prepare Duke students to become global health leaders by supervising their participation in community health research efforts to discover novel approaches to improving health care delivery in Haiti. To support FHM's research and education objectives, it is building infrastructure in the Leogane commune that will constitute a model for a regional health system and be available for student research. The Carmelle Voltaire Women's Center, which includes a birthing center, women's outpatient clinic, education center and an HPV testing laboratory opened in rural Tom Gato, Haiti in 2016. FHM has developed collaborative research relationships with several Haitian health entities that include 1) Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population (MSPP, Haitian Ministry of Health) 2) Faculté des Sciences Infirmières de l'Université Episcopale d'Haïti (Faculty of Nursing Science of the Episcopal University of Haiti or FSIL) 3) State School of Medicine in Port-au-Prince 4) Zanmi Lasante 5) GHESKIO 6) Basic Health International

* >200 Duke students [undergraduate, graduate and medical] have completed research/education projects with FHM in Haiti (1996-2016). Current SRT site (3rd year) * Duke's first Masters in Science in Global Health graduate student from the Kunshan campus did her research with FHM i Haiti (Hwee Min graduated Fall 2015) * >23,000 women screened for cervical dysplasia (1993-2016) * Portable colposcope (CerviScope) invented (2009) * Opened Haiti's first HPV-testing laboratory in Port-Au-Prince (2013) * Opened the Carmelle Voltaire Women's Center in Tom Gato (rural Haiti) (2016) * services include a health education and research center, outpatient clinic & a CareHPV testing laboratory, plans are underway to open the birthing center

FHM's cervical cancer prevention efforts contributed to: 1. the Haitian Ministry of Health declaring cervical cancer prevention a national priority 2. the development of national screening guidelines for cervical cancer prevention 3. the formation of an organization to unify the cervical cancer prevention efforts of NGOs working in Haiti - "Haiti sans Cervical Cancer" 1st meeting held in Durham October 10, 2015 4. the investment of QIAGEN corporation in placing CareHPV laboratories in key locations in Haiti (2017)

Last updated on June 3, 2020