By Evelyn Lena Sallah | Co-Executive Director, Global
Justice
So I can't show you how, exactly, health care is a basic human right.
But what I can argue is that no one should have to die of a disease that is
treatable. Dr. Paul Farmer, Partners for Health
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Haiti is home to the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Latin America, with reportedly the worst level of devastation in the Western Hemisphere.
Similar to many parts of the world, especially Southern Africa, HIV/AIDS in Haiti has created a population of hundreds of thousands of orphaned children. Meanwhile youth living in urban areas have three times the likelihood of contracting the disease than those living in rural areas.
Haiti’s crippling debt burden is a major factor in restraining government resources to adequately tackle this serious issue. The Jubilee Act, which would cancel the debt of 67 impoverished countries in the Global South, would free up resources for Haiti to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Race is directly related to this poverty and is exemplified clearly with the disproportionate number of those affected by HIV/AIDS within the African Diaspora.
We can further see this reality when comparing the devastation HIV/AIDS has in Sub-Saharan Africa to Haiti, and recognize similar levels of devastation. As nurses in hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are fighting for space, and clean syringes, so are the nurses in Haiti’s hospitals.
In Haiti, all levels of society and sectors are affected by HIV/AIDS, and the high mortality rates have had a destabilizing effect on overall productivity in one of the world’s most impoverished countries.
Haiti is struggling to build infrastructure to effectively battle the toll HIV/AIDS is taking on society. Yet, access to life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs that can significantly prolong the life of those affected by the disease, and healthcare professionals needed to administer these drugs, are starkly minimal.
Although the Group of Eight (G8), and other wealthy international partners have made large commitments to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS within the Global South, Haiti has seen minimal results from these public declarations.
What is most disturbing is that these wealthy nations are also home to the financial institutions that drain Haiti's minimal resources. Haiti’s government expenditures are insufficient in providing basic public services, including healthcare to the nation’s children.
A few pioneers within the medical community, including Dr. Paul Farmer, have taken initiative to spend time in Haiti treating those affected by HIV/AIDS. Health is a human right, access to treatment, access to healthcare, should not be based on location, race, and place, this is a system of Global Apartheid.
Pass the Jubilee Act (HR2634), and break the chains of debt today.
Today, I fast to acknowledge those within the African Diaspora who are most affected by the devastation of HIV/AIDS, recognizing that billions of dollars of debt are a hindrance in fighting the disease.
Join the Student Global AIDS Campaign Today! Visit www.fightglobalaids.org or more information.
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