Haiti

Haiti is a country in the Caribbean Sea that includes the western third of the island of Hispaniola. Haiti has differentiated itself ethnically, linguistically, and culturally from other Caribbean and Latin American countries, notably the Spanish-speaking and the English-speaking countries of the region being that Haitian Creole (Kweyol, or Kreyol) and French are the official languages.

Haiti is densely populated, with some two-fifths of the people living in rural areas, primarily as subsistence farmers or agricultural laborers. Haiti is one of the least developed countries in the Western Hemisphere whose history has been marked with political insecurity, weak institutions, low levels of economic development and massive inequalities, and natural disasters. Haiti’s health status is also poor, with life expectancy among the lowest in the world. The rates of birth and infant mortality are high, and about one-third of the population is under 15 years of age. 

Haiti faces a generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic fueled by poverty, high illiteracy rates and inadequate health and social services that have been further weakened by political instability, high internal migration rates and a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections. 

Haiti has the highest prevalence of HIV infection in Latin America and the Caribbean. It faces the worst AIDS epidemic outside Africa and bears the greatest burden of HIV in the Western Hemisphere with over 160,000 people living with HIV. While still far away from reaching the 95-95-95 goals, according to UNAIDS progress has been made with 67% of the population living with HIV knowing their status and 58% being on treatment as of  2018. 

Projects

Targeted Programmatic Support Across Countries (CDC1950)
(2020 – Present)

In September 2019, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded AIHA a five-year grant, providing a vehicle by which AIHA can assist the CDC at the global and country level, in support of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. So far, this project has operated in 10 countries including the Dominican Republic, Philippines, Laos, Kenya, Tanzania, Thailand, Nigeria, Zambia, and Guatemala, as well as Haiti.

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One of the goals of CDC1950 is to increase the capacity of civil society organizations to deliver needed health care services in their communities. One of the first activities to be undertaken in Haiti is to conduct an Organizational Capacity Assessment that will guide and tailor specific organizational capacity building program initiatives to strengthen civil society organizations to deliver essential health care services in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

In Project Year 2 AIHA focused on the following:

Objective 1: Strengthen financial resiliency through planning for diversified sources of revenue 

In accordance with gaps identified in Year 1, AIHA delivered trainings on Finance and Human Resources Management, M&E, Leadership and Communications followed by a two week-long on-line training on Social Enterprise and diversified sources of revenue. All trainings were followed up with in-country based mentorship. Upon completion of the training on Social Enterprise, participants submitted draft business plans that included a social enterprise scheme (e.g. a profit-generating activity). 

 

Objective 2: Build capacity to implement and sustain social enterprise schemes

Small grants were provided to CSOs to address their capacity development needs followed by implementation of their social enterprise capacity development plans. A local consultant was hired to assist AIHA supported selected organizations in each country to implement their social-enterprise scheme.

 

Key results:

Key Results of Phase 1 OCA-informed Training and Mentorship Programs:

  • 22 KP-led CSOs participants trained in Financial Management
  • 10 KP-led CSOs participants trained in Human Resources
  • 23 KP-led CSOs participants trained in Social Enterprise 
  • 13 KP-led CSOs attended at least 2 of 3 trainings with above 88% participation rate 
  • 90+ Cumulative Training Hours Implemented
  • 80+ Cumulative Mentorship Hours Implemented 

 

Key Results of Phase 3 Social Enterprise Initiative:

  • 13 of 13 eligible CSOs were trained in social enterprise
  • 8 CSOs submitted business plans for Social Enterprise mini-grants
  • 3 CSOs awarded Social Enterprise min-grants

CSOs from Haiti will share their experiences, lessons learned and recommendations for follow-up in an on-line Learning Exchange Forum scheduled for November 2021.