Stilling the tremors: Resurrecting HIV services in Haiti's post-earthquake tent cities
Ghose, T.; Boucicaut, E.; King, C.; Shubert, V.; Doyle, A.
International Journal of Social Welfare 22(4): 374-383
2013
ISSN/ISBN: 1369-6866 Document Number: 576599
The January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti severely undermined Hiv service provision in the country. Almost 10 percent of Haitians were displaced and now live in temporary tent communities. Little is known about how Hiv services are being provided to Haitians with Hiv in these encampments. This study addresses this lacuna by conducting a process evaluation of the manner in which a collaboration among Haitian community-based Hiv service providers, a US-based Hiv service provider, and a US-based academic research team resurrected Hiv services in the encampments. Efforts to set up Hiv services in the encampments proceeded through three stages: (i) an initial crisis response that activated established networks and identified feasible goals; (ii) the development of services by building research capacity, conducting needs assessments, addressing logistical challenges, and establishing community-based services; and (iii) the sustaining of the initiative by targeting resources and negotiating in the political arena. Implications of the protocol for future efforts are discussed. Key Practitioner Message: ● Resurrecting Hiv services in post-disaster zones; ● Utilizing cross-country, provider–academic partnerships to develop service capacity; ● Targeting structural barriers to establish Hiv services in resource-poor settings.