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“I am very grateful for IPPF/WHR because they helped Profamil after the earthquake. We hope to continue to receive support and expand services. Port-au-Prince was hit very hard and we hope to reach the people there and in other parts of the country in need.”

– PROFAMIL Executive Director, Dr. Michaud Gadner

August 19, 2010

Following the devastating January earthquake, our Member Association in Haiti, PROFAMIL, has been working diligently to get its feet back on the ground . IPPF/WHR and PROFAMIL have worked in close collaboration to get PROFAMIL’s services up and running, and they have made some amazing strides.

In the last few months PROFAMIL has grown tremendously, hiring a new Executive Director and three other key positions. Under its new leadership, PROFAMIL is again poised to be a key player in the provision of vital sexual and reproductive health services through its network of nearly 50 staff and community promoters.

In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, PROFAMIL offered basic health care. Yet now, given that an estimated 55% of people in the Haitian tent cities do not have access to sexual and reproductive health care, PROFAMIL is returning to its niche as a key provider of these services through it static and mobile health facilities.

PROFAMIL is currently replacing its temporary tent sites with more sturdy prefabricated structures which will fare better during the hurricane season. Three prefabricated structures will be strategically located near the tent cities in Port-au-Prince. One of these ready-made clinics will be situated on the site of the old building, which was damaged in the earthquake and is currently being demolished. The Port-au-Prince Youth Center stands adjacent to this prefabricated structure, thereby allowing youth easy access to a wide range of services. In Jacmel, PROFAMIL now occupies a centrally located building which houses a clinic, a laboratory, a youth center, and eventually a surgical facility.

PROFAMIL has re-established its youth program which includes: youth-friendly services, reproductive health education by youth themselves, and a variety of other activities directed towards empowering youth and improving their sexual health. Given the increased vulnerability of young girls in the post-crisis context, PROFAMIL’s youth program places a special emphasis on meeting the needs of young girls, to help them build their coping skills and know their rights. Violence against women has also increased dramatically and PROFAMIL is working to expand their capacity to meet this need.