September 28, 2007 - News and Events

JACQUELINE CHARLES, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

An increasing number of Haitians living in the rural Central Plateau region will soon be able to access healthcare with help from a Miami-based group.

The Green Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization that supports health programs locally and in Haiti, says it is committing an additional $2.4 million over the next five years to fund community health programs in rural Haiti as part of its expanding global health initiative.

The foundation, led by Miami Beach documentarian Kimberly Green, made the announcement this week during former President Bill Clinton's third annual Clinton Global Initiative in New York. The event brought together more 1,300 world leaders in business and healthcare as well as heads of state including Haiti President René Préval.

"More people will have access to healthcare, more will have access to drugs and there will be more treatment of TB, Malaria and HIV," Green said.

Earlier this year, Project Medishare, a medical mission affiliated with the University of Miami and partly funded by the Green Family Foundation, reported that it had seen a significant drop in HIV rates in Thomonde, the central plateau town where it has been providing healthcare for years.

Green said that while some of the funds will go toward helping Project Medishare continue its work in Thomonde, the funds also will support other clinics in the area, expanding the number of people being served from 45,000 to 75,000.

Part of the money also will go toward development activities with a focus on eliminating hunger, improving income and providing clean water and education.

"We are putting over 50 percent of the foundation's budget into this program," Green said.
Still, getting Haiti on the global healthcare agenda is not easy said Green, who noted much of the discussion this week in New York has focused on Africa. But by spending time with those who are succeeding in Uganda and elsewhere on the Africa continent, she said, she hopes to solutions for Haiti both with the fundraising and the needed focus.