PIH accompanies all of the organizations with which we partner in much the same way we do our individual patients. We view each of those relationships as collaborative and deserving of the best possible care available. As Haiti’s infrastructure is rebuilt, our most critical partnership will continue to be with the Haitian government. PIH/ZL will accompany the government as we work together to rebuild Haiti’s public health system.
One of the most important collaborations between PIH/ZL and the Haitian government since the earthquake is the construction of Mirebalais Hospital, a state-of-the-art surgical and teaching hospital that will serve as a vital and stabilizing component of Haiti’s health care system for years to come. (See the Mirebalais Hospital section for additional information.)
PIH is working closely with our academic partners, including Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, as we work to rebuild Haiti’s medical system. These institutions are already facilitating the education of Haitian and American medical students, training the future leaders of both Haiti’s medical system and the global health field.
PIH has partnered with Operation Blessing International to build Zanmi Beni (“blessed friends” in Haitian Creole), a home for both children orphaned by the earthquake and children living with developmental and physical disabilities. The facility opened in May, 2010. (See the Zanmi Beni section for additional information.)
In the days immediately following the earthquake, our partners were integral in helping to save lives. One of the first responders, the ONEXONE Foundation provided extraordinary help after the disaster by delivering desperately needed medical supplies. The Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Health Access Initiative provided invaluable and immediate logistical assistance, helping to secure the evacuation of 140 patients to the USNS Comfort and abroad as part of the immediate response. PIH’s partnerships with various hospitals in the US have paved the way for many other patients to be transported for life-saving medical treatments unavailable in Haiti. (See the Right to Health Care section for additional information.)
Other collaborations are pushing the boundaries of comprehensive care. Patients who were once immobile now navigate their communities using sturdy wheelchairs thanks to partnerships with Whirlwind and the Walkabout Foundation. Joint efforts with several charities, including charity: water and Operation Blessing, have provided access to clean water both at spontaneous settlements in Port-au-Prince and in rural communities.
Additionally, ZL has been able to rely on other PIH sister organizations for support and true “south-to-south” collaboration. A team of nurses from Socios En Salud—PIH’s sister organization in Peru—traveled to Haiti in response to the disaster, and several PIH-related physicians based in Rwanda, Lesotho, and Malawi (including Haitian-born Drs. Jonas Rigodon and Paul Pierre, both with years of experience working with ZL prior to their African assignments) traveled to Haiti to help with immediate relief. Various sites in resource-poor settings have even held fundraisers, despite their own constraints. In the past six months, PIH’s sister sites around the globe have stood in solidarity with Haiti, strengthening relationships and creating organizational momentum as we move forward.
