Hospitals and orphanages caring for HIV/AIDS patients in Haiti are increasingly alarmed following significant cuts to foreign aid from the U.S. Agency for International Development ( USAID ). This move, initiated under the administration of former President Donald Trump, slashed more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts, amounting to a staggering $60 billion cut in overall aid globally.
The ongoing funding crisis poses a severe risk to the estimated 150,000 people living with HIV or AIDS in Haiti, a number that many experts believe is actually higher, given the difficulties in tracking the disease in resource-limited settings.
Marie Denis-Luque, the founder and executive director of CHOAIDS (Caring for Haitian Orphans with AIDS)—an organization based in the northern city of Cap-Haïtien—has been particularly affected by these funding cuts. “We do not know what is going to happen after that,” she said, referring to the fact that their medical supplies are expected to last only until the end of July. At her facility, HIV-positive women care for 26 children, some of whom are as young as nine months old.
Denis-Luque’s organization was previously located in the capital, Port-au-Prince, but was forced to relocate to Cap-Haïtien in 2023 due to escalating gang violence. She emphasizes the critical role that medication plays in the care of children with HIV, stating, “Medicine is essential in the care for children with HIV.” Treatment helps manage the infection and can provide an average life expectancy for those affected. The absence of medication can lead to the virus compromising the immune system, ultimately progressing to AIDS.
Desperately seeking alternative funding, Denis-Luque has begun a frantic search for donations, yet her efforts have so far yielded no results. “I cannot watch them die,” she emotionally expressed to The Associated Press.
The urgency of the situation is echoed by Dr. Eugene Maklin, who runs a hospital near Cap-Haïtien and oversees the care of more than 550 HIV-positive patients. “If we do not find medicines in the coming days, it will lead to disaster,” he warned. He typically received over $165,000 annually to support HIV/AIDS patients, but that crucial funding has vanished. Dr. Maklin predicts that the hospital will exhaust its supply of HIV medication within two months.
Earlier this week, a video surfaced on social media depicting dozens of HIV-positive individuals protesting outside the office of Haiti’s prime minister in Port-au-Prince. In a country where stigma surrounding the disease runs deep, the protesters chose to show their faces and openly speak to reporters about the dire situation. Their courageous stand highlighted the urgent need for government intervention as they raised their voices against the dwindling supplies of essential medication.
With gang violence and poverty soaring in Haiti, experts fear that the ongoing shortage of medications could lead to a dramatic rise in new HIV infections. As the humanitarian crisis deepens, the call for immediate action to restore vital healthcare services has never been more pressing.