MIREBALAIS, Haiti - U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah visited the Mirebalais Hospital today and announced USAID is finalizing a $2 million partnership with the Partners in Health (PIH) local affiliate Zanmi Lasante.

USAID and PIH will collaborate on a three-year program, to be implemented by Zanmi Lasante along the Cerca la Source/Savanette border, to provide and reinforce integrated services for the prevention of HIV/AIDS and reduce the incidence of HIV infections in populations along the Haiti and Dominican Republic border, while also integrating family planning, health systems strengthening, as well as water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) activities.

Shah made the announcement during his visit to the Mirebalais Hospital, where he met with Partners in Health (PIH) Chief Strategist and Co-founder Dr. Paul Farmer, as well as Loune Viaud, co-Executive Director of Zanmi Lasante.

"With a results-oriented, evidence-based focus, this partnership advances our commitment to ensure every Haitian survives and thrives. From improving data collection to scaling up new tools and approaches, it demonstrates that we can expand access and improve the quality of care for even the most remote and vulnerable communities," said Administrator Shah.

To date, USAID has provided more than $3 million to PIH and Zanmi Lasante to improve health outcomes in Haiti. PIH received $1.5 million through the Agency's Services de Santé de Qualité pour Haïti health program to deliver short term technical assistance for HIV and Tuberculosis as well as patient critical care over three years. USAID also has a $1.6 million subcontract with Zanmi Lasante under the same health care program to provide services related to family planning, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and gender based violence.

Ensuring local communities have access to quality health services is a priority for USAID's work in Haiti. The U.S. Government, through USAID, provides access to basic health services for approximately 50 percent of Haitians. USAID is also building the capacity of the Government of Haiti with the objective of increasing Haiti's ownership and oversight of an adaptable public health system and reducing donor support over time. Specifically, USAID programming is helping the Ministry of Health to improve data collection and usage, upgrade internal management systems, manage diverse funding sources, and improve its ability to attract, train and retain professional health workers. USAID is also emphasizing site-level governance and accountability through an independent verification unit designed to increase transparency and improve health outcomes.

Five years after the devastating earthquake of 2010, despite enormous challenges, Haiti has made significant advances over the past five years in food security, health, and economic development, and the United States reaffirms its commitment of long-term support for the people of Haiti. Since 2010, U.S. Government-supported agricultural programs have introduced more than 70,000 farmers to improved seeds, fertilizer, and technologies, resulting in yield increases for corn and beans. A 2013 Haitian health survey reported improved trend lines for basic health indicators such as child vaccination rates, infant and child mortality, lower HIV/AIDS rates, and increased adult contraception use. Today, approximately half of all Haitians have access to basic health services at U.S.-supported establishments. U.S. support for the use of improved cooking technology for cooking has resulted in reduced charcoal consumption by over 90,000 metric tons and greenhouse gases by over 418,000 metric tons of CO2. And U.S. assistance helped some 328,000 displaced Haitians find alternative lodging or repair their earthquake-damaged homes.