In Haiti, PIH provides model aid

“Why has PIH been so effective?” asked St. Petersburg Times reporter Dan DeWitt in an article published on October 10.  “Why is it able to build a modern teaching hospital for $15 million while other organizations with far more money struggle to move beyond the handout phase of aid delivery?”

DeWitt recently visited Haiti to attend the cornerstone-laying ceremony for this new teaching Hospital—a 320-bed facility in the town of Mirebalais in central Haiti. “It was a rare sign that Haiti can be built back better, as former President Bill Clinton vowed after January's catastrophic earthquake,” he wrote.

"The rules of the road for development assistance need to be rewritten," said PIH co-founder Paul Farmer. "Not to favor contractors and middlemen and trauma vultures, but to favor the victims of the quake.''

Beyond the teaching hospital in Mirebalais, DeWitt also documents the successes of various PIH post-earthquake initiatives, including a home for disabled and at-risk children, and the expansion of a program to help local farmers and communities produce more food to help feed earthquake survivors.

Read the full article.

In an accompanying column, DeWitt explores the accomplishments of PIH co-founder Paul Farmer. He concludes that PIH’s successes are grounded in the work and commitment of thousands of employees and supporters – each focused on improving the health and standard of living for millions of people residing in some of the world’s most impoverished communities.

Read this column.