Victor Terrero, director of the National Council for HIV and AIDS prevention (Conavihsida) says that 25% of the Dominican health budget is spent on Haitian citizens. He said this includes HIV and AIDS prevention work and treatment. Dr. Terrero said that there was no difference in the way Haitians are treated in the country when it comes to public health, education and work. He made his comments during a discussion on the situation of HIV in the Caribbean and the strengthening of joint actions through the Regional Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS/STI, 2006n2015. The event was attended by Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) Coordinating Unit Director, Dereck Springer.
Springer is visiting Barahona today, Wednesday 11 March 2015 with Dominican health officials. Barahona has the largest population in the southwest near Haiti and is one of the country’s worst affected areas. During his visit, he will meet with HIV prevention and treatment program implementers who work with the vulnerable populations living and working in the area including migrant workers, sex workers and men who have sex with men.
Springer said that this week’s mission is aimed at encouraging closer cooperation between the PANCAP and the Dominican Republic at both policy and program levels. The other objective of the mission is to assess the achievements and gaps of the PANCAP Caribbean Social Marketing Project funded by Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau, the German development bank, which ends in September 2015.
Dr. Luis Ernesto Feliz Baez, director of DIGECITTS (General Director for Control of the Transmission of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections) was also at the press conference, where he addressed the issue of migrant Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. He also emphasized the need for all pregnant women, whether Haitian or Dominican, to get tested for HIV and enroll in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission program to reduce the risk of having an HIV-positive baby.
During his visit, Springer also met with Public Health Minister Altagracia Guzman Marcelino. Springer traveled to the DR after visiting Haiti.
Terrero says the country also carries out prevention campaigns in Haitian Creole to ensure they reach the Haitians living here. It advises women to take a HIV test when receiving care at Dominican hospitals. He estimated that the prevalence of HIV among Haitian sexual workers at 6.2%.
PanCap has been supporting the DR in its HIV and AIDS reduction work.
http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2015/3/10/359425/El-25-recursos-de-salud-son-para-haitianos
http://pancap.org/en/47-media/press-release/2580-pancap-and-the-dominican-republic-commit-to-strengthening-the-partnership.html