CDC in Haiti

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Haiti office opened in 2002 and focused on preventing the transmission of HIV/AIDS, providing care and treatment to those already infected, increasing laboratory and strategic information capacity, and building health care infrastructure.

Post-Earthquake Reconstruction

After the devastating earthquake in January 2010, CDC received one-time funding to reestablish and strengthen Haiti’s public health system and address immediate public health needs. As part of these efforts, CDC is engaged with a wide range of activities from HIV and tuberculosis to cholera treatment and safe water. CDC’s main partners include the Haitian Ministry of Health, Catholic Relief Services-AIDSrelief, Partners in Health, and local NGO, GHESKIO. They have developed seven interagency Public Health Legacy Goals: 1) eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, 2) eliminate the threat of cholera, 3) eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis, 4) ensure a robust, sustainable, self-correcting public health system, 5) reduce the under-five mortality rate from vaccine-preventable diseases by 35%, 6) reduce maternal mortality by 30%, and 7) reduce the prevalence of TB by 25%.

Global HIV/AIDS

The Division of Global HIV/AIDS (DGHA) opened CDC’s first office in Haiti in 2002 to support the Government of Haiti in addressing their HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 2003, under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), DGHA resources increased substantially to turn the tide against HIV/AIDS. CDC’s focus in country has been to provide treatment and care of those who are already infected with HIV and increase national laboratory capacity by building upon existing health care delivery systems and public health infrastructure. CDC also provides direct support to improve surveillance, epidemiology, and Health Management Information Systems with MSPP – Haiti’s Ministry of Health.

Strengthening Laboratory Systems and Networks

CDC is working with the National Public Health Laboratory to develop multiple testing capacities, including PCR for diagnosis of HIV in infants, CD4 testing, and bacteriology and parasitology testing for opportunistic infections in HIV-infected people. CDC also supports ensuring quality in labs throughout Haiti by helping them develop an external quality assurance program.

Field Epidemiology Training Program

The Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) works with ministries of health around the world to strengthen national and local public health systems and to address the severe shortage of skilled epidemiologists worldwide. The Haiti FETP currently supports 14 residents and other MSPP partners who participated in specialized trainings to improve the capacity of Haitian public health leaders to respond to emergencies, better understand the situation of water and foodborne diseases in Haiti, perform nutrition assessments in the field, and conduct case investigations in conjunction with national immunization activities.

Safe Water

Access to safe water and sanitation are fundamental to public health. The National Directorate of Potable Water and Sanitation (DINEPA) was created by regulation enacted on March 25th 2009 to address challenges and lack of regulation for the rural water sector in Haiti. Since its inception, DINEPA has established regional water and sanitation offices (OREPAs) in each of Haiti’s 4 main regions, as well as Rural Departmental Units (URDs) in each of the country’s 10 departments. To further support and strengthen the work of the OREPAs and URDs, DINEPA has selected, trained, and deployed potable water and sanitation technicians (TEPACs) to work throughout Haiti at the commune level. Two TEPACs were deployed to each commune, and are responsible for water quality monitoring and overseeing the maintenance and management of rural water supply systems. CDC partnered with DINEPA to partially fund, provide technical assistance for, and support the TEPAC program. CDC technical assistance primarily resulted in the development of training materials that DINEPA used to educate and equip the TEPACs to support DINEPA’s mission.

Neglected Tropical Diseases

Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), a neglected tropical disease (NTD), is actively transmitted in four countries in the Americas: Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Guyana and Haiti. The highest national prevalence is in Haiti where it is estimated that 10% of the population is infected. Mass drug administration (MDA) with anthelminthic drugs has been identified as a global strategy to interrupt LF transmission and contribute to LF elimination. MDA has been conducted in areas of Haiti since 2000 through a partnership with the Haitian Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), University of Notre Dame (UND), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, IMA World Health, Research Triangle Institute (RTI), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and CDC. Port-au-Prince was the final geographic region in Haiti to implement MDA and MDA activities are planned through early 2014.

Injury Prevention

CDC and The Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED), in collaboration with UNICEF-Haiti, Institute Haitien de Statistique et d’Informatique (IHSI), and the Multi-Sectoral Task Force, known as the Comite du Coordination, completed the data collection phase of the Violence Against Children Survey (VACS), a population- based survey to obtain national estimates of physical, emotional, and sexual violence against children in June of 2012. CDC has provided technical assistance in all aspects of the analysis and completion of the final report, which is expected to be released in 2013.