COVID-19 continues to spread around the world at an alarming rate, demanding global action to contain the spread and ensure that care is available for the most vulnerable and PIH is launching a comprehensive effort to support this response across its network of supported countries around the world. PIH is uniquely positioned to respond to COVID-19, leveraging deep experience in treating infectious disease outbreaks and responding to emergency situations around the world.
Partners In Health (PIH) knows that COVID-19 will disproportionately affect the most vulnerable and hit countries with weak health systems the hardest. Where the population suffers from conditions such as malnutrition, HIV, and tuberculosis, mortality is anticipated to be far worse. This is the reality of the places where PIH works, and it is unclear if the current global response accounts for the factors in these setting.
PIH is launching a comprehensive effort to support this response across its network of supported countries around the world to contain and control the spread of the virus, ensure that patients are provided with dignified care, and demonstrate to the world what aggressive action in vulnerable settings can achieve.
In response to the needs identified by MOH leadership across many PIH-supported care delivery sites, PIH will hire personnel to be embedded in the MOH offices to deeply accompany and support needs at the national level. This request, which pre-dates COVID-19, was requested based on PIH's track record of investing in community-driven, patient-centered health care delivery strategies that have shown long-term impact in patient outcomes and strengthened overall health systems.
