Partners In Health News Archive

2008

Fighting hunger and malnutrition in the mountains of Lesotho
19-month-old Malipho Ramahapa weighed less than 12 pounds last fall when his desperate mother brought him to PIH's clinic in Nohana, Lesotho. Months before headlines and television reports announced a global food crisis, children like Malipho alerted PIH to a spike in the hunger and malnutrition that chronically afflict poor communities in Lesotho and other countries where PIH works. In a single week last October, more than 100 children were diagnosed as malnourished in the community of Nohana alone. Find out how PIH's partners are treating and saving them through a comprehensive food program.

60 Minutes to watch... and a lifetime to act
This May, CBS's 60 Minutes featured a segment on the work of Partners In Health. In case you missed any part of the broadcast, it can be viewed here. If the images you saw and the voices you heard have inspired you, learn more about how you can contribute to PIH's work in Haiti, and the movement for health and social justice around the world.

Croc attack: Trendy footwear fights sand fleas in Haiti
They’re bright. They’re comfy. They’re trendy. They’re Crocs – the gaudily colored plastic shoes worn by fashionistas across the US. This summer, they're also on the feet of thousands of children, women and men in the central plateau of Haiti. But this sudden popularity wasn’t dictated by fashion. The shoes were prescribed by doctors to treat a major public health problem – an epidemic of tungiasis (sand fleas). Read more and watch a video on YouTube.

Rwanda's rural health initiative brings quality care and home visits to Burera
A young, widowed mother of five named Patricie was suffering from both advanced HIV/AIDS and disseminated tuberculosis. So PIH's Dr. Patrick Almazor decided to pay her a visit at her home--a two hour climb up the hills of rural Rwanda. For PIH, such home visits are an integral part our work. There is no substitute for the opportunity to sit with a patient in his or her home in an effort to understand the social, economic, and structural forces that shape lives and contribute to illness. So Dr. Patrick's trek was business as usual. But what made this particular visit special was the fact that it was the first home visit from the new Burera District Hospital. Just a few months ago, there was no hospital and just a handful of health workers to care for Burera's population of nearly 400,000.

Accompaniment Guide for MDR-TB patients
Socios En Salud, PIH's partner organization in Peru, has published a simple, illustrated guide for participants in their Peer Mentorship program. The participants are former MDR-TB Patients who provide education, advice and treatment support to help current patients through the two long years of treatment. The SES Accompaniment Guide is now available for download (in Spanish).
[Download PDF, 9MB]

PIH helps bring quality care to the only district in Rwanda without a hospital
For years, the 360,000 residents of the Rwandan district of Burera relied on a single doctor and a hospital that existed only in name. Not any longer. On March 20, what had been "an abandoned building where goats were hanging out" opened its doors as a beautiful new 24-bed ward, staffed by 43 skilled health professionals. The inauguration of the new ward marked a major milestone for the effort by the Rwandan government, PIH and the Clinton Foundation to bring quality health care to every corner of rural Rwanda.

Healing hearts in Rwanda
A volunteer surgical team from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston recently began a mission to help Rwandans suffering from heart failure (often caused by Rheumatic Heart Disease, or RHD). This condition leaves thousands of Rwandans gasping for breath in a process of slow suffocation that can only be treated with surgery, which medical facilities in Rwanda currently cannot provide. Enter Team Heart. This spring, the team began began performing life-saving surgeries while working with PIH, a local hospital, and the Rwandan Ministry of Health to establish a self-sustained cardiac surgery program in the country. Team Heart has started a blog to document their innaugural trip. PIH co-founder Paul Farmer was one of the first to post.

New hospital opens in Haiti's Central Plateau
A new hospital opened in January in the Central Plateau of Haiti. Built through a partnership between the Haitian Ministry of Health and Zanmi Lasante with funding from AmeriCares, the new facility will help serve the communities of Lascahobas and Lacolline. Before the construction of the hospital, patients had literally flooded into a small, poorly-equipped health center. “The people of Lascahobas and Lacolline, like all the people of Haiti, deserve modern health infrastructure,” said PIH Co-founder Dr. Paul Farmer, who attended the event along with Haitian President René Préval.  

2007

Battling HIV/AIDS: World AIDS Day brings a cause for celebration around the world
World AIDS Day on December 1 was the occasion for celebrations by PIH partner organizations around the world and for reflections by PIH Medical Director Joia Mukherjee on the progress that has been made over the past two decades. From Haiti to Rwanda, from Malawi to Peru, thousands of PIH staff, patients and community residents gathered to enjoy games, dances and songs, to hear lessons and testimonials from medical staff, community health workers and people living with HIV, and to celebrate, in Joia Mukherjee's words, "solidarity and what communities’ voices can achieve when raised together."

"Solidarity can end structural violence" – Report from the Cange Forum on health and human rights
On September 6 and 7, Zanmi Lasante held its thirteenth forum on health and human rights, “Sante ak Dwa Moun,” a gathering of the whole Zanmi Lasante family—patients, their families, people from the communities of the Central Plateau and the neighboring Artibonite Department, accompagnateurs, teachers, archivists, cleaners, nurses, doctors and students. ZL Director of Operations Loune Viaud and PIH Medical Director Joia Mukherjee report.

Socios En Salud responds to earthquake in Peru, calls for support for victims
A rapid-response medical team from PIH's partner organization, Socios En Salud (SES), was among the first to arrive ready to provide relief, guidance, and a little bit of hope to survivors of the recent earthquake in Peru. SES was able to contribute badly needed medicine, food, clothing, and blankets. Although no deaths have been confirmed among SES's 115 multidrug-resistant TB patients in the area, the quake destroyed the homes of more than half of them and several lost at least one family member.

PIH Lesotho celebrates first anniversary in Nohana
August 22, 2007 is a date that the people of the tiny mountain village of Nohana, Lesotho, will never forget. That was the day their community hosted a gala celebration marking the first anniversary of PIH’s work in Lesotho. “It was the most remarkable thing I have ever seen,” said PIH Country Director Jen Furin. “The joy and pride of all those there was clearly visible and very real.” No small feat and no small party, thousands of people attended the event.

Paul Farmer reports from Lesotho on the eve of PIH's first anniversary
All of PIH-Lesotho will be celebrating a birthday on August 22, when co-workers from Lesotho, Rwanda, Malawi, and Boston join the Minister of Health, the Clinton Foundation, the Irish Government (which has funded much of our work in Lesotho), and many other partners and supporters in the same town, Nohana. Nohana has been transformed in many ways: the facilities there have been retrofitted for infection control; a new clinic has been built; and hundreds of patients with AIDS and TB are receiving world-class care.

PIH ramps up advocacy work with focus on community health workers and XDR-TB
Since the beginning of 2007, PIH has ramped up its advocacy activities aimed at inluencing policy and funding priorities at the national and global levels. PIH staff have testified in Congress, spoe press conferences and taken a leading role at meetings organized by the World Health Organization. Recent advocacy efforts have focused on increasing awareness and funding to address both the health worker crisis in Africa and the global spread of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB).

PIH receives $3 million grant to develop model for treating XDR-TB and HIV
With help from a $3 million grant from the Open Society Institute, PIH is taking on an epidemic that has been widely described as "incurable" and that threatens to reverse recent progress in combatting HIV/AIDS – extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis or XDR-TB.

Socios En Salud steps up training and advocacy in the fight against MDR-TB
Socios En Salud, long recognized as a leader for innovating community-based treatment for MDR-TB and for training other health professionals how to do it, has redoubled training activities, sending teams to Haiti and Africa and hosting nurses from Latin America.

PIH's Russia project receives praise and funds for work with MDR-TB
PIH's project in Russia has recently received visits and expressions of renewed support and funding for its work with MDR-TB from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the Eli Lilly and Co. Foundation and Bill Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Film producer donates share of DVD sales to PIH
In the independently produced action movie "The Minx," a modern-day Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives to the poor. During the first six weeks that the movie is available on DVD, the producers of "The Minx" are giving to the poor in real life by donating $1 of every sale to PIH.

On-line edition of PIH's HIV manual invites exchange of ideas and experience
PIH has launched a new, interactive edition of The PIH Guide to the Community-Based Treatment of HIV in Resource-Poor Settings. "The new website allows visitors to share insights about the manual and experiences in the field, to ask questions of each other, and to foster a community of care," explained PIH Medical Director Joia Mukherjee. The manual is the first module of a warehouse of PIH tools, resources and guidelines for global health delivery to be known as the "Partners In Health Model On-Line."

PIH launches new project in Malawi
Add a third African country to the list of places where PIH is working to provide comprehensive, community-based health care in the face of devastating epidemics of AIDS, infant and maternal mortality, and poverty. In January, PIH launched its newest project, located in Neno, Malawi – an impoverished rural area in one of Africa’s poorest and most densely populated countries, with an HIV infection rate among adults of more than 14 percent.

Google funds students to write code for PIH's medical record system
This summer, students around the world have the opportunity to participate in an exciting collaboration between OpenMRS and Google, Inc., to help develop an open-source medical record system that improves the care of patients with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. More than 100 students applied for up to 10 positions working with PIH by the March 24 deadline.

Arcade Fire sparks support for PIH
The Arcade Fire is making a name for itself, not only as one of Canada’s hottest bands but as advocates and fundraisers for global health equity. The Montreal-based band has pledged to donate $1, £1 or €1 of every ticket sold on their upcoming tour of Europe and North America to Partners In Health.

"One day, one party, one cause" – Stanford Dance Marathon raises $150,000 for PIH
They could have danced all night. And they did. More than 900 students at Stanford University joined together in early February to stage a 24-hour dance marathon that raised more than $150,000 for Partners In Health.

ACTION ALERT – PIH calls for U.S. funding to train and retain health care workers in Africa
Partners In Health has been hard at work with colleagues at other organizations and in Congress to get a piece of legislation introduced that addresses the catastrophic shortage of health care workers in Africa. Now the drafting is over, the bill has been filed, and it is time to pitch in to get it passed.

PIH looks back on 2006 – another year of rapid growth and major gains
For PIH and our partner organizations, 2006 was a year of daunting challenges and striking achievements. For the second consecutive year, we launched a new project, this time in Lesotho. We also strengthened and expanded our operations in countries where we have been working for many years. We constructed and inaugurated new facilities in Peru, Haiti and Rwanda. We substantially increased the numbers of patients we serve and initiated major new programs to serve them better.

IHSJ takes on hunger and health
The Institute for Health and Social Justice (IHSJ) – PIH's research, education and advocacy arm – has launched a campaign to galvanize knowledge, awareness, and action to combat pandemic coinfections of hunger, malnutrition and disease. The campaign kicked off with a seminar series in Boston, starting on Thursday, March 8, with world renowned expert Dr. Nevin Scrimshaw.

Treating hunger in Haiti with food
Thanks to the dedicated efforts of Zanmi Lasante’s child nutrition program, more than 17,000 children at 28 schools in central Haiti receive piping hot lunches every day—free of charge. "Since we began giving daily meals, my students hardly ever miss a day and their academic performance has improved dramatically," one teacher says.

Rwinkwavu operating room offers emergency obstetrics
After months of construction, training, and procuring equipment and supplies, the operating room at Rwinkwavu Hospital in Rwanda is open for business. Being able to provide obstetrical surgery could save hundreds of lives in an area where maternal mortality rates are high and transportation to hospitals in other districts is not readily available.

Profile: Haitian AIDS patient delivers treatment and truth
More than 13 years ago, Denizard Wilson was diagnosed with AIDS. Soon he was too sick to continue working in Port-au-Prince, too poor to afford medical care, fearful that time was running out. Then he moved back to his hometown in the Central Plateau and went to PIH for treatment. “Since I have been with PIH, I have never been sick again," he says today.

2005/2006

PIH launches "Sputnik" to combat MDR-TB in Siberia
Partners In Health Russia marked a major milestone in November with the launch of "Sputnik," a new health promotion program using community health workers to improve care for patients living with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Tomsk, Siberia.

FACE AIDS - Student activists aim to raise $1 million for PIH
October 2006 -- Founded in 2005 by a committed group of Stanford University students, the non-profit organization FACE AIDS has now spread to more than 85 campuses across the country. By late September, the campaign had raised more than $250,000 towards its target of $1 million to fight AIDS in Africa by supporting the work of Partners In Health.

PIH fields a strong presence at international TB meeting
Partners In Health representatives from four continents traveled to Paris, France for the 37th World Conference of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, held from October 31 through November 4, 2006. PIH affiliates from Peru, Russia, Rwanda, and Boston presented their experience integrating community-based care for tuberculosis and HIV and using innovative technologies to test for drug resistance and manage patients' medical records.

Next stop: Lesotho
PIH launches new project in southern Africa
July 2006 -- Barely a year after establishing our first project on the African continent in Rwanda, Partners In Health has started its second in Lesotho, a small, mountainous nation of two million people located entirely within the borders of South Africa.

Into Africa – Haitian doctor Jonas Rigodon brings his skills and the PIH/ZL model to Lesotho
July 2006 -- With the launch of a new project in Lesotho, Partners In Health is bringing to remote mountain villages in southern Africa the model of community-based care for HIV/AIDS pioneered in Haiti by PIH/Zanmi Lasante. Among those bringing it are some of Zanmi Lasante's most experienced and dedicated staff.

Partners In Health teams up with the World Food Program to distribute food in Haiti
July 2006 -- Partners In Health's Haitian partner organization, Zanmi Lasante (ZL) broke new ground in providing comprehensive health care for HIV patients on June 5 with the launch of a major food distribution program.

PACT youth program expands summer activities
July 2006 -- PIH's Boston-based PACT project has received a $15,000 grant from the Boston Foundation as part of a collaborative effort to expand summer activities for at-risk youth and arrest an alarming rise in violence around the city.

PIH mourns a leader in the fight for health and social justice in Haiti
June 2006 -- Jean Gabriel Fils, known widely and affectionately as Ti Jean, died on May 28 in Central Haiti, where he had lived all his life.

Cyclists complete cross-country journey to support global health equity and PIH
June 2006 -- They left San Francisco on bicycles at the beginning of April. 50 days, 3,700 miles, 12 states, 16 cities, and nearly $130,000 of fundraising later, the 21 participants in the "Ride for World Health" pedaled into Washington, DC, their legs weary, their journey finally over but the memories -- and emotions -- running strong.

New guidelines and goals for treating MDR-TB announced.
June 2006 -- New guidelines for treating multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) were announced at a gathering of TB experts in Atlanta on May 10.

Yes Riders hit the road for humanitarian aid.
June 2006 -- A team of young people mounted their bicycles in Seattle on June 1 and embarked on a "transcontinental ride for humanitarian aid" scheduled to finish up in Boston at the end of July.

Partners In Health mourns Dr. Lee Jong-wook, Director-General of WHO.
May 2006 -- The global health community lost a visionary leader and Partners In Health lost a valued friend on May 22 with the death of Dr. Lee Jong-wook, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Russian doctors receive comprehensive training in MDR-TB
April 2006 -- Doctors from all 26 territories in Siberia and the Far East of Russia received comprehensive training in detection, prevention and treatment of multidrug-resistant TB through a 10-day program held in Novosibirsk in late March.

PIH's web-based medical records system earns headlines and awards
January 2006 -- Hamish Fraser, PIH's Director of Informatics and Telemedicine, has earned a new title – "do-gooder." Fraser was one of a half-dozen people singled out by Red Herring magazine in early January for a cover story featuring "Six Who’ve Applied Tech to a Good Cause."

Jim Kim returns to DSMHI and PIH
January 2006 -- Jim Kim is back. Jim, who teamed up with Paul Farmer to found Partners In Health in 1987, returned in mid-December after almost three years at the World Health Organization (WHO), where he served first as Senior Advisor to the Director-General on HIV/AIDS and then as head of the HIV/AIDS Department.

Hurricane Stan: Tragedy does not strike equally
October 2005 -- Since October 5, 2005, we have been following the tragedy unfolding in the PIH supported project in Chiapas, Mexico in the wake of Hurricane Stan.

Hilton Humanitarian Prize Goes to Partners In Health, Innovative Pioneer
September 2005 -- Partners In Health, an innovative health care leader for poor societies, will receive the 2005 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize of $1.5 million, the world’s largest prize. It is awarded annually by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to an organization that is significantly alleviating human suffering.

From Gonaïves to New Orleans: Reflections on the Gulf Coast Tragedy
September 2005 -- Images of Gulf Coast residents killed or left homeless by Hurricane Katrina in early September came as a shock to many Americans, who are unaccustomed to seeing such stark misery within their country, the most affluent and powerful in the world.