Port-au-Prince, April 9, 2025 --- Some sixty health providers from mobile clinics are participating in a week-long training course on the prevention and screening of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, as well as on the prevention and screening of tuberculosis.
This one-week workshop is organized in Port-au-Prince by UNFPA and UNAIDS in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and Population.
As part of the Global Fund project
This initiative is part of the Global Fund-supported project, which runs for a period of one year, until June 2025, explains Jean-Pierre Makelele, UNFPA Deputy Representative in Haiti. The funds were mobilized through the GBV sub-cluster, which brings together humanitarian actors engaged in the fight against gender-based violence, he emphasizes.
The Ministry of Women's Affairs and Women's Rights plays a leading role, and UNFPA co-leads this sub-group, to facilitate a more predictable, accountable and effective response in complex humanitarian situations, adds Dr. Makelele.
The objective
The objective of this training is to strengthen the capacity of health providers to deliver integrated health care to meet the growing needs created by the current crisis, explains Christian Moualla, UNAIDS Representative in Haiti. It also aims to support the continuity of essential services for the prevention and treatment of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as the prevention and treatment of HIV/STIs and tuberculosis in mobile clinics deployed in displacement sites in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.3500 personnes dépistées au VIH
3,500 people tested for HIV during these mobile clinics will receive essential prevention and appropriate care services. These services will also be accompanied by referrals of HIV-positive cases and suspected tuberculosis cases to care and treatment centers.
In a crisis context where vulnerable people are more exposed to STIs, HIV and sexual violence, in addition to the lack of access to health services, this training will provide mobile clinic providers with essential tools for clinical screening for sexually transmitted infections, HIV, tuberculosis, as well as for the care of infected people.
Referral
A referral process will be implemented to allow individuals identified as needing care to be referred to the appropriate care centers.
A map of tuberculosis and HIV treatment services will be shared with health providers in the West Department to ensure effective and coordinated care.
Knowledge Application
Through this workshop, participants will acquire the necessary knowledge on the topics covered and will be able to apply this knowledge to future mobile clinic activities.
They will be able to actively engage in promoting sexual and reproductive health rights in order to provide quality health services to these vulnerable women and girls who struggle to maintain their dignity.
Against preventable maternal deaths
On World Health Day, UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem called for prioritizing investments to achieve zero preventable maternal deaths.
“Let us commit to building healthier and more just societies and ensuring that all women who give birth can survive childbirth and thrive afterward.”
We all have a role to play in combating preventable deaths and improving public health, especially for vulnerable women and communities. We can and must end preventable maternal deaths.
An asset in my profession as a midwife
"Faced with the global scourge of HIV/AIDS, we need qualified, multidisciplinary healthcare professionals to provide adequate care and implement far-reaching preventive measures to achieve the goal of zero new infections by 2030," says Naomie Noel, nurse-midwife.
She sees this training as an asset in her daily practice as a midwife. “Educating and raising awareness among young people and healthy adults about responsible sexual behavior is important,” Noel explains.
According to her, "those already infected should be encouraged to change their behavior to avoid complicating their case and to adhere strictly to their treatment."
Text and photos: Vario Sérant
