Help Provide Lifesaving HIV and TB Care in Haiti

Between November 2025 and January 2026, Haiti’s HIV response unfolded during escalating insecurity, uncertainty around international funding - specifically from CDC PEPFAR, and severe disruptions to mobility and supply chains. For many patients, simply reaching a clinic meant navigating unsafe roads, rising transport costs, and unpredictable closures. Despite these pressures, Zanmi Lasante (ZL) protected the continuity of care for thousands of people living with HIV and TB. Through community tracing, mobile outreach, and transport support, ZL ensured treatment despite constraints and instability. 

Zanmi Lasante’s Role and Strategic Response 

During this period, ZL conducted over 400 home visits across its network, reconnecting dozens of patients who had fallen out of care and preventing treatment interruption. Mobile clinics continued operating in accessible zones, delivering nearly 200 HIV tests per month through its own and partner networks, ensuring that new cases could still be identified and linked to services. Most critically, more than 6,000 individuals received transportation assistance in just two months — a lifeline in a context where missed appointments can quickly lead to viral rebound and increased transmission risk. Retention in care remained the program’s central achievement. 

Operational Challenges 

The response was not without constraints. Uncertain funding landscapes, reduced budget lines for patient social support, and cash shortages in regions such as Bas Artibonite limited the scale of some planned activities. Security-related disruptions forced the postponement or reprogramming of services in Verrettes, Mirebalais, and Savanette. Yet, ZL adapted rapidly — mobilizing internal funds where possible, reassigning patients to functioning sites, and prioritizing high-impact interventions such as transport subsidies and patient tracing. These decisions were strategic: in fragile settings, protecting treatment continuity is prevention. 

Building Forward 

This period reaffirmed a critical lesson: operational resilience saves lives. Sustained donor support did more than finance activities — it preserved dignity, safeguarded adherence, and reinforced Haiti’s HIV response during instability. As we move forward, ZL will focus on strengthening decentralized follow-up, stabilizing financing mechanisms, expanding community-based models, and restoring nutritional support for the most vulnerable patients. Continued partnership is essential to ensure that no patient is left behind — and that progress against HIV in Haiti remains steady, even in crisis.