Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

HIV/AIDS in Haiti

An estimated 3.8% of the Haitian population is infected with HIV. Haiti has by far the highest incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in Latin America and the Caribbean region, and an estimated 20% of these TB patients are infected with HIV. Although the Haitian HIV/AIDS epidemic is mostly transmitted through heterosexual contact and from mother to child, other high-risk groups warrant special attention: commercial sex workers and their clients and partners; migrant workers in agricultural, fishing, tourism and construction sectors; factory workers in duty-free zones; truck and bus drivers and other men who work away from home for long periods; uniformed personnel including members of the police force, border and customs agency staff; and discordant couples. The presence of a large multi-national peacekeeping force in Haiti may also contribute to the national HIV/AIDS risk profile.

CDC HIV/AIDS Activities in Haiti

Prevention:

• Supporting the Haitian Ministry of Health (MOH) in the prevention of medical HIV transmission programs, including promoting injection safety and direct support to the National Blood Transfusion Service.
• Providing support for technical assistance from the Pan American Health Organization for prevention of medical HIV transmission.

Care and Treatment:

• Strengthening prevention of mother to child HIV transmission (PMTCT) services:
  • building technical capacity in the MOH by providing technical and managerial training for PMTCT staff;
  • bolstering the capacity of faith-based organizations (FBOs), community-based organizations (CBOs) and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to deliver high-quality, sustainable, PMTCT services nationwide, including the provision of HIV prophylaxis to HIV-positive women and their babies;
  • linking post-natal PMTCT interventions with orphans and vulnerable children programs; and
  • supporting community mobilization and health education activities to increase awareness and demand for PMTCT services.
• Supporting the National TB Control Program in the integration of TB and HIV programs, building on lessons learned from a 2006 pilot to integrate HIV testing and palliative care into TB clinics, as well as screen HIV patients for TB at counseling and testing and palliative care sites. This strategy includes:
  • provider-initiated clinical and diagnostic HIV counseling and testing for all persons with TB as part of standard TB care;
  • screening of all HIV-infected persons for active TB disease as part of routine clinical care of HIV positive persons at palliative care sites; and
  • establishing strong patient referral system between TB clinics and HIV/AIDS care and treatment centers.

Laboratory, Strategic Information, and Other Capacity Building:

• Strengthening the national laboratory infrastructure:
  • providing technical assistance and training for numerous laboratory personnel;
  • supporting quality assurance and quality control systems and processes;
  • helping the country to have well-maintained laboratory equipment and a continuous supply of reagents; and
  • upgrading laboratory capacity in pediatric diagnostic procedures at a central level as well as peripheral levels of the national laboratory system.