Food Shortages and Political Instability Mean Obstacles for Haitians Seeking HIV/AIDS Treatment

By Karla E General

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - HIV-positive people in Haiti have been severely impacted by food supply shortages and the political instability that has plagued the island. It is estimated that 2.2 percent of Haiti's 9.1 million people are living with HIV/AIDS.

Haitians are currently living in extreme poverty, with more than 60 percent below the poverty line of less than two dollars per day. An estimated 2.7 million of the total population living on the island face massive food shortages. Inadequate nutrition, in turn, has disastrous effects on those who are HIV-positive - antiretroviral drug regimens designed to combat HIV/AIDS are largely ineffective without an adequate nutrition plan. "It's difficult to assure [antiretroviral] adherence without that food support," says Reynold Grand Pierre of GHESKIO, a non-governmental organization that supports HIV/AIDS treatment throughout Haiti. The food shortage in Haiti is a result of rising food prices, high poverty rates, a troubled agricultural sector and recent hurricanes.

Political instability has exacerbated the problems of those who are HIV-positive. Since the forced exile of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in the Haitian Rebellion of 2004, donor assistance has been meager, but is recently showing improvement. Along with the election of a new President, Rene Preval, more than 8,000 peacekeepers and humanitarian workers under the United Nations were deployed to help stabilize relations. However, the political climate remains fragile in this poverty-stricken country.

Though there is help provided to Haiti from entities such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), it is not enough to provide food security for the 190,000+ people living with the virus. "People who are nutritionally compromised are going to die, whether they're on antiretrovirals or not," said Alan Isaac, program director at Catholic Relief Services. 

For more information, please see:

Plus News - Haiti: Fighting HIV a Task as Tough as the Island - 26 October 2007

Plus News - Haiti: Voodoo Priests Enlisted in AIDS Fight - 4 November 2008

Kaiser Network - Food Shortages Pose Obstacles to HIV/AIDS Treatment in Haiti - 4 November 2008